Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 3.1
॥
Devanāgarī
य एको जालवान् ईशत ईशनीभिः सर्वांल् लोकान् ईशत ईशनीभिः ।
य एवैक उद्भवे संभवे च य एतद् विदुर् अमृतास् ते भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
ya eko jālavān īśata īśanībhiḥ sarvāṃl lokān īśata īśanībhiḥ /
ya evaika udbhave saṃbhave ca ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः एकःyaḥ ekaḥwho is one; that single One
जालवान्jālavānholder of the net; who keeps the snare in hand
ईशतेīśaterules; holds sway
ईशनीभिःīśanībhiḥby His own powers; by the powers of lordship
सर्वान् लोकान्sarvān lokānall the worlds; the worlds entire
ईशतेīśaterules; keeps under His sway
ईशनीभिःīśanībhiḥby His own powers; by the powers of lordship
यः एव एकःyaḥ eva ekaḥwho alone; He the only one
उद्भवेudbhaveat the rising; at the world's coming forth
संभवेsaṃbhaveat the forming; at the time of its becoming
चcaand; as well as
ये एतत् विदुःye etat viduḥthey who know this; those who know it
अमृताः ते भवन्तिamṛtāḥ te bhavantibecome immortal; are made imperishable
Translation
He who, holding the net, rules by His own powers, rules all the worlds by them; He who alone is there at the world's rising and at its forming: they who know this become immortal.
Version
a68d0d4e26a9 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third adhyāya opens with an image worth understanding exactly: jālavān, "holder of the net". The net is māyā, that same śakti spoken of at 1.3; in the fourth adhyāya it will be named outright. The Lord is not tangled in the net — He holds it; we thrash in it like fish because we do not see the hand.
Twice it is repeated: "rules by His own powers", īśate īśanībhiḥ. The repetition is not ornamental: it says that His rule is not bare will but is carried out through powers, through śaktis. In the same way it is explained why the world looks self-acting: the powers work, and behind them the Lord is unseen.
Then two times are named: udbhava and saṁbhava — the world's rising and its forming, that is, the beginning and what takes shape afterwards. He alone is there in both; neither creation is farmed out to anyone, nor the world's upkeep.
And the refrain, which will sound twice more in this adhyāya: "they who know this become immortal". Note that immortality is promised not for a feat and not for a rite, but for knowledge — yet knowledge of a particular kind: seeing behind the net the One who holds it.