Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 4.4
॥
Devanāgarī
नीलः पतङ्गो हरितो लोहिताक्षस् तडिद्गर्भ ऋतवः समुद्राः ।
अनादिमांस् त्वं विभुत्वेन वर्तसे यतो जातानि भुवनानि विश्वा
Transliteration (IAST)
nīlaḥ pataṅgo harito lohitākṣas taḍidgarbha ṛtavaḥ samudrāḥ /
anādimāṃs tvaṃ vibhutvena vartase yato jātāni bhuvanāni viśvā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नीलः पतङ्गःnīlaḥ pataṅgaḥthe dark bird; the blue flier
हरितःharitaḥgreen; greenish
लोहिताक्षःlohitākṣaḥred-eyed; with crimson eyes
तडिद्गर्भःtaḍidgarbhaḥcarrying lightning in the womb; in whose belly is the lightning
ऋतवःṛtavaḥthe seasons; the times of the year
समुद्राःsamudrāḥthe seas; the oceans
अनादिमान्anādimānbeginningless; having no beginning
त्वम्tvamThou; Thou Thyself
विभुत्वेनvibhutvenaby all-pervasion; by the force of pervading
वर्तसेvartaseThou abidest; Thou existest
यतःyataḥfrom whom; out of whom
जातानिjātāniare born; have arisen
भुवनानि विश्वाbhuvanāni viśvāall the worlds; all the inhabited universes
Translation
Thou art the dark bird and the green, the red-eyed, the one who carries lightning in the womb; Thou art the seasons and the seas. Beginningless, Thou abidest everywhere by Thy very all-pervasion: from Thee all the worlds are born.
Version
c98cbd97f608 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The list goes on, but now it takes in birds, colours, clouds, seasons and seas. The Upaniṣad seems deliberately to break the lofty pitch of its speech with the small things of the living world: a moment ago it was Prajāpati and Brahman — and here is a blue bird and red eyes.
"Carrying lightning in the womb" is a cloud: in it both the discharge and the rain ripen. Seasons and seas are named together because both are cycles: the seasons come round, the waters evaporate and fall. The world is taken here not as a thing but as a motion.
But in the middle of this motley list stands a word that changes everything: anādimān, "beginningless". Everything listed has a beginning; He has none. And so the identification is at once qualified: "from Thee all the worlds are born". He is not equal to the list; He is its source.
And the reason for His presence in everything is given: vibhutvena, "by all-pervasion", by the force of His very nature. He does not travel about the world inspecting His domains; He is present because such is He.
Three mantras in a row — elements, people, living creatures — add up to one instruction: do not look for Him apart from what you see. And the next mantra will explain why, even so, He is not seen.