Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 2.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अग्निर् यत्राभिमथ्यते वायुर् यत्राधिरुध्यते ।
सोमो यत्रातिरिच्यते तत्र संजायते मनः
Transliteration (IAST)
agnir yatrābhimathyate vāyur yatrādhirudhyate /
somo yatrātiricyate tatra saṃjāyate manaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अग्निःagniḥfire; Agni
यत्रyatrawhere; there where
अभिमथ्यतेabhimathyateis rubbed out; is drawn by friction
वायुःvāyuḥwind; breath
यत्रyatrawhere; there where
अधिरुध्यतेadhirudhyateis held back; is restrained
सोमःsomaḥsoma; the sap of immortality
यत्रyatrawhere; there where
अतिरिच्यतेatiricyatebrims over; pours out in excess
तत्रtatrathere; precisely there
संजायतेsaṃjāyateis born; comes fully into being
मनःmanaḥthe mind; the gathered mind
Translation
Where fire is rubbed out, where the wind is held back, where the soma brims over — there the mind is born.
Version
2d4819a3b59b · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
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A transitional mantra: the words are still ritual, the sense already wholly inward. Three acts of the sacrifice are named one after another, and each has an exact counterpart in the yoga to be spoken of next.
Fire is "rubbed out" — abhimathyate, that same friction of the araṇis from 1.14; inwardly this is contemplation, which warms the heart. The wind is "held back" — adhirudhyate: in the rite this is the wind that fans the flame, in the body the prāṇa, the breath that is restrained, as mantra 2.9 will say outright. The soma "brims over" — atiricyate: in the rite the pressed juice runs over the rim of the cup; inwardly this is the excess of sweetness that comes when the fire has caught and the breath has settled.
And the conclusion is unexpected: "there the mind is born". One would think the mind was there from the start — it was harnessed in the opening mantras. But the Upaniṣad distinguishes the scattered mind from the mind that is born. What we usually call mind is a disorderly flickering; the true, gathered mind is born only where these three conditions have met.
Hence a practical conclusion: concentration is not obtained by a direct effort of the mind. It is obtained indirectly — by warming the heart, quieting the breath, letting sweetness fill the cup. The mind comes last, like a guest to a table already laid.