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Upanishads · Sarasvatīrahasya 4.19
॥
Devanāgarī
आवृणोत्यपरा शक्तिः सा संसारस्य कारणम् । साक्षिणः पुरतो भातं लिङ्गदेहेन संयुतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
āvṛṇotyaparā śaktiḥ sā saṃsārasya kāraṇam | sākṣiṇaḥ purato bhātaṃ liṅgadehena saṃyutam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आवृणोति अपरा शक्तिःāvṛṇoti aparā śaktiḥthe other power covers
सा संसारस्य कारणम्sā saṃsārasya kāraṇamit is the cause of transmigration
साक्षिणः पुरतः भातंsākṣiṇaḥ purataḥ bhātaṃwhat appears before the witness
लिङ्ग-देहेन संयुतम्liṅga-dehena saṃyutamjoined with the subtle body
Translation
The other power covers; it is the cause of transmigration — what appears before the witness, joined with the subtle body …
Version
3edf4617ead0 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is worth noting that the cause of transmigration is named precisely the power of covering, not the power of scattering. That is, the trouble is not that the world exists, but that its foundation is not seen. This distinction, to my mind, is the most important thing in this part, and it is worth voicing, for it brings the two schools closer than is usually thought.
If the trouble were multiplicity, salvation would consist in its destruction. But since the trouble is named covering, salvation consists in seeing; and multiplicity may remain in the process. The Vaiṣṇava side holds this too; and her māyā is likewise a veil, not the generator of a lie.
Let us add what she adds to the word saṃsāra and what is worth remembering. Saṃsāra means "circling," from sam-sṛ, "to flow together, to revolve"; that is, the trouble is named not existence but going around in a circle. And salvation, accordingly, is not the cessation of motion but an exit from the circle; and that the goal is not a stop but a change of direction was discussed when reading the Varāha (5.38).
Let us add the word sākṣin, "witness," standing here: what is joined with the subtle body appears before it. That is, even in this exposition there is one before whom; and a witness, by definition, is not what is witnessed.