Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 4.14
॥
Devanāgarī
सूक्ष्मातिसूक्ष्मं कलिलस्य मध्ये विश्वस्य स्रष्टारम् अनेकरूपं ।
विश्वस्यैकं परिवेष्टितारं ज्ञात्वा शिवं शान्तिम् अत्यन्तम् एति
Transliteration (IAST)
sūkṣmātisūkṣmaṃ kalilasya madhye viśvasya sraṣṭāram anekarūpaṃ /
viśvasyaikaṃ pariveṣṭitāraṃ jñātvā śivaṃ śāntim atyantam eti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सूक्ष्मात् अतिसूक्ष्मम्sūkṣmāt atisūkṣmamfiner than the fine; subtler than the subtlest
कलिलस्य मध्येkalilasya madhyein the midst of the tangle; in the middle of the confusion
विश्वस्य स्रष्टारम्viśvasya sraṣṭāramthe Creator of the universe; the maker of everything
अनेकरूपम्anekarūpamof many forms; assuming many shapes
विश्वस्य एकम्viśvasya ekamthe one of the universe; the single one for all
परिवेष्टितारम्pariveṣṭitāramthe encompasser; who wraps it round
ज्ञात्वाjñātvāhaving known; on recognising
शिवम्śivamthe Benign One; the gracious one
शान्तिम् अत्यन्तम् एतिśāntim atyantam etione attains the utmost peace; he comes to the final calm
Translation
Finer than the fine, in the midst of the tangle, Creator of the universe, of many forms, the one who encompasses all — knowing the Benign One, they attain the utmost peace.
Version
9e63331591f6 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
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The expression kalilasya madhye — "in the midst of the tangle" — is rare and strong. Kalila means entanglement, thicket, disorder. He is finer than the finest and is in the middle of that thicket: not above it, not off to the side, but inside the very muddle of our life.
This is an important addition to what has gone before. The Upaniṣad has already said that He is in the heart (3.13) and in everything (4.2–4.4); here it adds: and in the disorder. One need not first set things in order so as to seek Him; He is where the confusion is now.
Then two definitions are set side by side: anekarūpa, "of many forms", and eka, "one". The manifoldness of His manifestations does not break Him up; the third adhyāya said the same, where He has faces and arms everywhere.
And He is named with the word śiva — "the Benign". As before, this name stands in its plain sense; what is known is the Benign One, not a force.
The fruit is repeated: śānti atyanta, the utmost peace — the same words as at 4.11. The repetition is no accident: in the fourth adhyāya, where so much is said of māyā and of confinement, peace is named three times, as if to answer the tangle in whose midst it is found.