Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 1.14
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वदेहम् अरणिं कृत्वा प्रणवं चोत्तरारणिं ।
ध्याननिर्मथनाभ्यासाद् देवं पश्येन् निगूढवत्
Transliteration (IAST)
svadeham araṇiṃ kṛtvā praṇavaṃ cottarāraṇiṃ /
dhyānanirmathanābhyāsād devaṃ paśyen nigūḍhavat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्वदेहम्svadehamone's own body; one's own frame
अरणिम्araṇimas the lower araṇi; as the lower fire-board
कृत्वाkṛtvāhaving made; having turned
प्रणवम्praṇavamthe praṇava; the syllable OṀ
चcaand; while
उत्तरारणिम्uttarāraṇimas the upper araṇi; as the upper stick that is twirled
ध्याननिर्मथनाभ्यासात्dhyānanirmathanābhyāsātby the practice of churning through contemplation; by constant rubbing-meditation
देवम्devamGod; the Deity
पश्येत्paśyetlet him see; he will behold
निगूढवत्nigūḍhavatas one hidden; as though hidden until now
Translation
Having made his own body the lower araṇi and the praṇava the upper, by constant churning-contemplation let him behold God, hidden until now.
Version
132ca3d0c0be · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image is carried through and turned into an instruction. The two fire-sticks are the araṇis: the lower, which lies, and the upper, which is twirled. The lower is called one's own body, the upper the praṇava, the syllable OṀ. The friction from which fire is born is contemplation.
The word chosen is a strong one: nirmathana, "churning" — the very word for beating butter out of curds and for the gods' and asuras' churning of the ocean. It denotes not a burst but a long rhythmic labour in which nothing happens — until everything happens. And beside it stands abhyāsa, "practice", that is, constancy. There is no spark from the first movement, and no butter from the first stroke.
What matters too is where the body is placed. It is neither discarded as a hindrance nor declared a prison: it is the lower araṇi, the base without which there is nothing to draw fire from. The body here is an instrument, and a necessary one.
The last word, nigūḍhavat, is best rendered "as though hidden": God appears to one who was hidden — not one who has come into being. Insight creates nothing; it lifts the veil from what is already present.
Commentators are fond of citing this mantra. Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa quotes its second half in the Govinda-bhāṣya to show that vision comes from constancy of service, and derives from it the formula: constancy breeds tenderness, and tenderness breeds vision. He cites it, however, under the name of the Brahma-upaniṣad: this half-verse circulated in various collections, and such a double attribution is an ordinary matter in the mediaeval tradition.