Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 4.15
॥
Devanāgarī
स एव काले भुवनस्य गोप्ता विश्वाधिपः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः ।
यस्मिन् युक्ता ब्रह्मर्षयो देवताश् च तम् एवं ज्ञात्वा मृत्युपाशांश् छिनत्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
sa eva kāle bhuvanasya goptā viśvādhipaḥ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ /
yasmin yuktā brahmarṣayo devatāś ca tam evaṃ jñātvā mṛtyupāśāṃś chinatti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः एवsaḥ evaHe Himself; precisely He
कालेkālein time; in due season
भुवनस्यbhuvanasyaof the world; of the universe
गोप्ताgoptāthe protector; the one who guards
विश्वाधिपःviśvādhipaḥlord of the universe; supreme over all
सर्वभूतेषुsarvabhūteṣuin all beings; in every creature
गूढःgūḍhaḥhidden; concealed
यस्मिन्yasminin whom; in which
युक्ताःyuktāḥare yoked; are joined
ब्रह्मर्षयःbrahmarṣayaḥthe seers of Brahman; the sages of Brahman
देवताः चdevatāḥ caand the deities; and the gods as well
तम् एवम् ज्ञात्वाtam evam jñātvāknowing Him thus; on knowing Him so
मृत्युपाशान्mṛtyupāśānthe snares of death; the nooses of death
छिनत्तिchinattihe cuts; he severs
Translation
He Himself, in time, is the protector of the world, the lord of the universe, hidden in all beings; in Him the seers of Brahman and the deities are yoked. Knowing Him thus, a man cuts the snares of death.
Version
d5eabce3a500 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra calls Him goptā — "protector, guardian"; the same word as gopāḥ, "herdsman", at 3.2. Note what He is doing "in time": not judging and not punishing — guarding. Time, which at 1.2 claimed to be the first cause, turns out here to be merely the span within which His guarding continues.
Then what matters most to this Upaniṣad is repeated: the guardian of the universe is "hidden in all beings". The greatest and the most secret are one.
The third line adds something new: "in Him the seers of Brahman and the deities are yoked". The word yuktāḥ is from the same root as "yoga": both sages and gods are harnessed to Him. That is, the highest beings of the cosmos are not independent; their power is a share in His.
And the fruit is named with a sharp verb: chinatti, "he cuts". Not "unties" but severs the snares of death. The image of the noose, pāśa, runs through the whole Upaniṣad from 1.8, where the soul was bound by thinking itself the enjoyer.
Curiously, the cutting is ascribed not to Him but to the knower: "knowing Him thus, he cuts". Knowledge is given here as a knife into the hand — but that knife, as 6.18 will say, is placed in the hand by Him.