Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 1.9
॥
Devanāgarī
ज्ञाज्ञौ द्वाव् अजाव् ईशनीशाव् अजा ह्य् एका भोक्तृभोगार्थयुक्ता ।
अनन्तश् चात्मा विश्वरूपो ह्य् अकर्ता त्रयं यदा विन्दते ब्रह्मम् एतत्
Transliteration (IAST)
jñājñau dvāv ajāv īśanīśāv ajā hy ekā bhoktṛbhogārthayuktā /
anantaś cātmā viśvarūpo hy akartā trayaṃ yadā vindate brahmam etat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ज्ञाज्ञौjñājñauthe knowing and the unknowing; the conscious and the non-conscious
द्वौdvautwo; these two
अजौajauunborn; both without beginning
ईशनीशौīśanīśauthe powerful and the powerless; the master and the subject
अजाajāthe unborn one (feminine); the beginningless — nature
हिhiindeed; truly
एकाekāone; a single one
भोक्तृभोगार्थयुक्ताbhoktṛbhogārthayuktāset to the enjoyer and the enjoyed; bound up with the purpose of enjoyer and object
अनन्तःanantaḥis infinite; is boundless
चcaand; while
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the highest Ātman
विश्वरूपःviśvarūpaḥof all forms; taking on every appearance
हिhiindeed; truly
अकर्ताakartānot an agent; not involved in the deed
त्रयम्trayamthe triad; these three
यदाyadāwhen; as soon as
विन्दतेvindateattains; comprehends
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; as Brahman
एतत्etatthis; this very thing
Translation
Two unborn ones — the knowing and the unknowing, the powerful and the powerless; and one unborn feminine, set to the enjoyer and the enjoyed. And the Ātman is infinite, of all forms, no agent. He who attains this triad attains Brahman.
Version
e898c26ef7a5 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
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Here is the formula on which the whole of Vaiṣṇava Vedānta will later rest: three eternal principles, none of them created and none reducible to the others.
The first two are named by pairs of opposites. Jña and ajña — "the knowing and the unknowing": consciousness and what is devoid of consciousness. Īśa and anīśa — "the powerful and the powerless". That is, God and the soul: both are conscious, both beginningless — and therefore alike; but one rules and the other is ruled — and therefore they are not identical. The distinction is drawn not by the nature of the substance but by lordship.
The third is ajā, "the unborn" in the feminine: prakṛti, nature. The word allows a play the commentators make use of: ajā also means "she-goat", whence the image of that beginningless goat giving milk of three colours — red, white and black, that is, the three guṇas. And her purpose is stated outright: she is "set to the enjoyer and the enjoyed", that is, she does not exist for herself but as a field of experience for the soul.
Of the Highest three things are said: infinite, of all forms, and — not an agent. The last is easy to misread. Akartā does not mean "inactive": it has just been said that He bears the universe. It means that the deed does not bind Him: He is not caught up in it as the soul is, and He does not carry karmic consequences as an agent does.
And the conclusion: "he who attains this triad attains Brahman". Not "he who reduces the three to one", but he who sees all three in their relation. It is precisely this verse that Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa takes as a support for the teaching of the eternal difference of Īśvara, jīva and prakṛti within their inseparability — and in the Govinda-bhāṣya he cites the Śvetāśvatara more often than any other Upaniṣad except the two great ones.