Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 4.7
॥
Devanāgarī
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नो अनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।
जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्य् अन्यम् ईशं अस्य महिमानम् इति वीतशोकः
Transliteration (IAST)
samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno anīśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ /
juṣṭaṃ yadā paśyaty anyam īśaṃ asya mahimānam iti vītaśokaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
समाने वृक्षेsamāne vṛkṣeon the same tree; on the shared tree
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥthe man; the embodied one
निमग्नःnimagnaḥsunk; drowned
अनीशयाanīśayāthrough powerlessness; by his own helplessness
शोचतिśocatigrieves; sorrows
मुह्यमानःmuhyamānaḥfalling into delusion; being deluded
जुष्टम्juṣṭamfavoured; the gracious one, who has shown favour
यदा पश्यतिyadā paśyatiwhen he sees; as soon as he beholds
अन्यम्anyamthe Other; one other than himself
ईशम्īśamthe Lord; the Master
अस्य महिमानम्asya mahimānamand His majesty; the greatness of Him
इतिitithus; then indeed
वीतशोकःvītaśokaḥhe is freed from sorrow; his grief passes away
Translation
On the same tree the man, sunk in it, grieves through his own powerlessness, deluded. But when he sees the Other — the Lord, who has favoured him — and His majesty, then his sorrow passes.
Version
6ca7310682c8 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra explains what happens to the first bird, and explains it with pitiless precision: it is nimagna, "sunk", drowned in the tree. And it grieves anīśayā — "through powerlessness": the same word as at 1.2, where it was shown that the soul has no power over its own joy and grief.
Here the cause of all human anguish is named. The trouble is not that the world is bitter but that we lay claim to a power we do not have and each time discover our helplessness. Hence too muhyamānaḥ, "deluded": the delusion does not come from outside, it is held up by our own claim.
And then the turn: "when he sees the Other". The first thing that saves is to see that He is anya, Other. Not "I am He" — that would only double the claim — but "He is not I".
But the chief word of the mantra is juṣṭam, the very one that stood at 1.6: "favoured", "sought out by grace". It is read two ways: "he sees the Beloved" and "he sees the One by whom he has been favoured". Both readings lead the same way: the meeting happens not because the looker looked hard enough but because the One looked at showed favour.
And then — vītaśokaḥ, "the sorrow has passed". Not "has been explained", not "has become bearable": it has passed. Grief was the consequence of powerlessness; with the acknowledgement of the Lord its cause is gone.