Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 6.5
॥
Devanāgarī
आदिः स संयोगनिमित्तहेतुः परस् त्रिकालाद् अकलो ऽपि दृष्टः ।
तं विश्वरूपं भवभूतम् ईड्यं देवं स्वचित्तस्थम् उपास्य पूर्वम्
Transliteration (IAST)
ādiḥ sa saṃyoganimittahetuḥ paras trikālād akalo 'pi dṛṣṭaḥ /
taṃ viśvarūpaṃ bhavabhūtam īḍyaṃ devaṃ svacittastham upāsya pūrvam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आदिः सःādiḥ saḥHe is the beginning; He is the origin
संयोगनिमित्तहेतुःsaṃyoganimittahetuḥthe cause and occasion of the joining; the ground and reason of the conjunction
परः त्रिकालात्paraḥ trikālātbeyond the three times; on the far side of past, present and future
अकलः अपिakalaḥ apiand partless; having no portions
दृष्टःdṛṣṭaḥis discerned; is beheld
तम् विश्वरूपम्tam viśvarūpamHim, of all forms; Him who takes every shape
भवभूतम्bhavabhūtambecome being itself; existing as being itself
ईड्यम्īḍyamworthy of praise; who is extolled
देवम्devamGod; the Deity
स्वचित्तस्थम्svacittasthamstanding in one's own heart; abiding in one's own consciousness
उपास्य पूर्वम्upāsya pūrvamhaving worshipped first; having bowed to Him before all else
Translation
He is the beginning, the cause of the joining; He is beyond the three times and is discerned as partless. Him — of all forms, become being itself, the God worthy of praise who abides in one's own heart — having worshipped Him before all else...
Version
087dba81d716 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
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The mantra calls Him by the same name with which the fifth adhyāya ended its talk of karma: saṁyoga-nimitta-hetu, "the cause of the joining". There it was about the one who brings soul together with body; here it is said of the cosmos as a whole.
Then two definitions that must be held together. "Beyond the three times" — He is outside past, present and future; they do not divide Him. "Partless", akala — He is not composed of portions, He cannot be taken apart. And immediately — viśvarūpa, "of all forms": for all His partlessness He takes every shape. Vedānta disputed this too, examining how the partless can be manifold; the Upaniṣad's answer is simple: both are discerned.
The word bhava-bhūta, "become being", means that He is not cut off from what exists: not somewhere behind the world, but the very being of the world.
And the chief thing is the practical instruction for whose sake the mantra was written: upāsya pūrvam, "having worshipped first". Before reasoning, before yoga, before searching — worship. And the place is named: svacitta-stha, "abiding in one's own heart". He who is beyond the three times is accessible right where you now are.