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Upanishads · Muktikā 1.9
॥
Devanāgarī
निश्वासभूता मे विष्णोर्वेदा जाताः सुविस्तराः । तिलेषु तैलवद्वेदे वेदान्तः सुप्रतिष्ठितः
Transliteration (IAST)
niśvāsabhūtā me viṣṇorvedā jātāḥ suvistarāḥ | tileṣu tailavadvede vedāntaḥ supratiṣṭhitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
निश्वास-भूताः मे विष्णोःniśvāsa-bhūtāḥ me viṣṇoḥhaving become the out-breath of me, Viṣṇu
वेदाः जाताः सु-विस्तराःvedāḥ jātāḥ su-vistarāḥthe Vedas were born, most extensive
तिलेषु तैल-वत् वेदेtileṣu taila-vat vedeas oil in sesame seeds, in the Veda
वेदान्तः सु-प्रतिष्ठितःvedāntaḥ su-pratiṣṭhitaḥvedānta is well established
Translation
«The Vedas, having become the out-breath of me, Viṣṇu, were born most extensive; and as oil in sesame seeds, vedānta is well established in the Veda».
Version
3caf47e5648c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting two places. First: niśvāsa-bhūtā me viṣṇoḥ, «having become the out-breath of me, Viṣṇu». This expression goes back to Bṛhadāraṇyaka (2.4.10), where it is said: asya mahato bhūtasya niśvasitam etad yad ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ..., «this is the out-breath of the great being: the Ṛgveda, the Yajurveda, the Sāmaveda, the Atharvāṅgirasa, the histories, the purāṇas».
Worth examining the image, for it is exact. A breath is what comes out without effort and of itself: we do not labor in breathing out. That is, the Vedas are not composed and not compiled; they are breathed out.
And add what follows from this and what the Vaishnava side holds its own: if the Veda is a breath, it is not separable from the one who breathes; and hence studying it is a kind of drawing near, not a gathering of information. The second place is the comparison: tileṣu taila-vat, «as oil in sesame seeds». Oil is in the seed, but is not seen; and to take it, the seed must be pressed.
That is, vedānta does not lie in the Veda as a separate part, like a chapter in a book: it is diffused throughout, and is drawn out by pressing. This comparison, I think, is the best of all thought up about the relation of rite and teaching; and it explains why the upaniṣads are not gathered in one place but scattered among the branches.