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Upanishads · Jābāli 4
॥
Devanāgarī
पशुपतिरहङ्काराविष्टः संसारी जीवः स एव पशुः । सर्वज्ञः पञ्चकृत्यसम्पन्नः सर्वेश्वर ईशः पशुपतिः
Transliteration (IAST)
paśupatirahaṅkārāviṣṭaḥ saṃsārī jīvaḥ sa eva paśuḥ | sarvajñaḥ pañcakṛtyasampannaḥ sarveśvara īśaḥ paśupatiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पशुपतिः अहङ्कार-आविष्टःpaśupatiḥ ahaṅkāra-āviṣṭaḥthe lord of the beast, overtaken by self-making
संसारी जीवःsaṃsārī jīvaḥis the living being caught in the round
सः एव पशुःsaḥ eva paśuḥhe indeed is the beast
सर्व-ज्ञः पञ्च-कृत्य-सम्पन्नःsarva-jñaḥ pañca-kṛtya-sampannaḥthe all-knowing, possessed of the five acts
सर्व-ईश्वरः ईशः पशुपतिःsarva-īśvaraḥ īśaḥ paśupatiḥthe lord of all — Īśa, lord of the beast
Translation
“[The same] lord of the beast, overtaken by self-making, is the living being caught in the round of rebirth; he indeed is the beast. The all-knowing, possessed of the five acts, the lord of all — he is Īśa, lord of the beast.”
Version
3c3f8558b8f5 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Here is a definition, and it is the fundamental one of the whole book; it deserves precise examination, for it says more than it seems to. It is said: paśupatir ahaṅkāra-āviṣṭaḥ saṃsārī jīvaḥ sa eva paśuḥ. That is, the very lord of the beast, overtaken by self-making, is the living being caught in the round; and he too is the beast.
This reading, taken literally, is pure non-dual doctrine: one and the same principle, wrapped in self-conceit, is the soul, and, unwrapped, is the Lord. Add, too, the second half: Īśa is described as sarvajña, “all-knowing,” and pañca-kṛtya-sampanna, “possessed of the five acts.” In Śaiva teaching the five acts are: creation, sustaining, destruction, tirodhāna (concealment), and anugraha (grace).
This list is good, and the last two deserve note, for they are what is distinctive about this teaching. Concealment: the Lord Himself hides Himself from the soul — not out of enmity, but so that it may live out its own life. Grace: He is the one who reveals as well.
The Vaiṣṇava side accepts this list in substance and has its own correspondence to it: māyā and kṛpā, the veil and the grace, are both His powers; and that the path is closed from within and the key held by another was discussed reading Varāha (5.23). Its objection is to the first half of the definition. If the beast and the master are one, distinguished only by self-conceit, then grace turns out to be addressed to no one: He shows grace to Himself, and produces concealment over Himself.
So its own definition is different: the soul is aṃśa, “an eternal fragment” (Gītā 15.7), not the Lord Himself wrapped in something; and the word sanātana beside the word aṃśa was discussed reading Varāha (3.8).