Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 3.10
॥
Devanāgarī
ततो यद् उत्तरतरं यद् अरूपम् अनामयम् ।
य एतद् विदुर् अमृतास् ते भवन्ति अथेतरे दुःखम् एवापियन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
tato yad uttarataraṃ yad arūpam anāmayam /
ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti athetare duḥkham evāpiyanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततःtataḥthan that; than this
यत् उत्तरतरम्yat uttarataramwhat is higher still; what is more excellent
यत् अरूपम्yat arūpamwhat is without form; devoid of material shape
अनामयम्anāmayamwithout flaw; unailing, without defect
ये एतत् विदुःye etat viduḥthey who know this; those who know it
अमृताः ते भवन्तिamṛtāḥ te bhavantibecome immortal; are made imperishable
अथ इतरेatha itarebut the others; while the rest
दुःखम् एवduḥkham evasuffering only; grief alone
अपियन्तिapiyanticome to; to that they come
Translation
That which is higher than that, which is without material form and without flaw — they who know this become immortal; but the others come only to suffering.
Version
069b1267a7ed · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra adds two negations to what has been said, and both must be understood exactly. Arūpa, "without form": He has no shape moulded of matter, no appearance subject to wear. Anāmaya, literally "without illness": in Him there is no flaw or corruption, nothing can damage Him.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta insists that the first word denies materiality, not form as such: His form is Himself, woven of being, consciousness and bliss, and not of earth and fire. Discussing the famous arūpavat, "as if formless", Baladeva reads it precisely so: He has no form as a separate thing attached to Him — because the form is He.
The second half of the mantra sounds severe: "but the others come only to suffering". This is not a threat but a description. He who does not know the Lord stays within the wheel described in the first adhyāya — and the wheel, as it was said there, turns through birth and death; it has no other fruit.
Here the refrain about immortality is repeated for the third time — and for the first time its reverse is added. The Upaniṣad does not frighten with hell; it merely finishes the thought: there is no third outcome.