Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 2.3
॥
Devanāgarī
युक्त्वाय मनसा देवान् सुवर् यतो धिया दिवं ।
बृहज् ज्योतिः करिष्यतः सविता प्रसुवाति तान्
Transliteration (IAST)
yuktvāya manasā devān suvar yato dhiyā divaṃ /
bṛhaj jyotiḥ kariṣyataḥ savitā prasuvāti tān
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
युक्त्वायyuktvāyahaving yoked; having harnessed
मनसाmanasāby the mind; by means of the mind
देवान्devānthe gods; the powers, the deities
सुवःsuvaḥto the light; to the heavenly light
यतःyataḥgoing; directed
धियाdhiyāby thought; by understanding
दिवम्divamto heaven; into the heavens
बृहत्bṛhatgreat; immense
ज्योतिःjyotiḥlight; radiance
करिष्यतःkariṣyataḥabout to make; those who will produce it
सविताsavitāSavitṛ; the Impeller
प्रसुवातिprasuvātimay He impel; let Him urge on
तान्tānthem; those very ones
Translation
Having yoked by the mind the gods who by thought are set toward the light, toward heaven, and are about to kindle the great light — may Savitṛ impel them.
Version
8689478a3fb2 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A continuation of the same hymn, but widened: what is yoked is now not only one's own mind but "the gods". In the rite these are the deities the priest invokes; on the inward reading, those presiding powers that govern our senses: Agni over speech, Āditya over sight, and the rest. The Upaniṣads keep reminding us that behind every organ of ours stands a deity, and that concentration is therefore not a matter of one will but of the agreement of many powers.
The goal of their movement is named twice: suvar and divam, "light" and "heaven". Then it is said that they "are about to kindle the great light", bṛhaj jyotiḥ: the point is not contemplation of someone else's radiance, but that the light should blaze up here, in this man.
And the mantra does not end with that effort. Its last words are a petition: savitā prasuvāti tān, "may Savitṛ impel them". We harness ourselves, but the team moves at His word.
Three mantras in a row repeat one movement of thought, and this is no treading in place: the Veda is fixing a rhythm — harness, direct, ask for impulsion. So the Upaniṣad will keep teaching, only in place of priestly terms there will appear the spine, the breath and the place to sit.