Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 3.7
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः परं ब्रह्म परं बृहन्तं यथानिकायं सर्वभूतेषु गूढं ।
विश्वस्यैकं परिवेष्टितारम् ईशं तं ज्ञात्वामृता भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ paraṃ brahma paraṃ bṛhantaṃ yathānikāyaṃ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaṃ /
viśvasyaikaṃ pariveṣṭitāram īśaṃ taṃ jñātvāmṛtā bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः परम्tataḥ paramhigher than that; above this
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; the Highest
परम्paramsupreme; sovereign
बृहन्तम्bṛhantamimmense; vast
यथानिकायम्yathānikāyamaccording to the vessel; in keeping with each dwelling
सर्वभूतेषुsarvabhūteṣuin all beings; in every creature
गूढम्gūḍhamhidden; concealed
विश्वस्यviśvasyaof the universe; of the whole
एकम्ekamthe one; the single one
परिवेष्टितारम्pariveṣṭitāramthe encompasser; who wraps it round
ईशम्īśamthe Lord; the Master
तम् ज्ञात्वाtam jñātvāhaving known Him; on recognising Him
अमृताः भवन्तिamṛtāḥ bhavantithey become immortal; they are made imperishable
Translation
Higher than that is the supreme Brahman, immense, hidden in every being according to its vessel, the one Lord who encompasses the universe: knowing Him, they become immortal.
Version
edcd55ce433a · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra sets two things side by side, and its whole force is in their neighbourhood: He "encompasses the universe" — and He is "hidden in every being". The greatest outwardly and the most secret inwardly are one and the same.
The phrase yathā-nikāyam, "according to the vessel", explains why His presence looks different in each. He is one, but manifests in each in keeping with the container: as one light shines differently through clear and through clouded glass. From this will later grow the teaching that the degree of revelation is proportioned to purity — and that what must be changed is not He but the vessel.
The word pariveṣṭitṛ, "encompasser", literally means "who wraps around": the world is not beside Him and not outside Him but inside an embrace. Note that this is exactly the image of the first mantra of the Īśa Upaniṣad, where everything is "enveloped by the Lord".
And for the third time in this adhyāya the refrain sounds: "knowing Him, they become immortal". Each time it is placed after a pointing to something the mind finds hard to hold together: He both holds the net and rules; He both encompasses all and hides in each. The knowledge that gives immortality consists, then, not in solving one of the sides but in holding both.