Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 6.6
॥
Devanāgarī
स वृक्षकालाकृतिभिः परो ऽन्यो यस्मात् प्रपञ्चः परिवर्तते ऽयं ।
धर्मावहं पापनुदं भगेशं ज्ञात्वात्मस्थम् अमृतं विश्वधाम
Transliteration (IAST)
sa vṛkṣakālākṛtibhiḥ paro 'nyo yasmāt prapañcaḥ parivartate 'yaṃ /
dharmāvahaṃ pāpanudaṃ bhageśaṃ jñātvātmastham amṛtaṃ viśvadhāma
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥHe; precisely He
वृक्षकालाकृतिभिःvṛkṣakālākṛtibhiḥthan the tree, time and the forms; than the tree, time and shapes
परः अन्यःparaḥ anyaḥhigher and other; surpassing and distinct
यस्मात्yasmātfrom whom; out of whom
प्रपञ्चःprapañcaḥthe unfolding; the manifoldness of the world
परिवर्तते अयम्parivartate ayamthis revolves; this round proceeds
धर्मावहम्dharmāvahamthe bringer of dharma; the giver of righteousness
पापनुदम्pāpanudamthe dispeller of sin; who drives away evil
भगेशम्bhageśamthe lord of opulences; the master of all goods
ज्ञात्वाjñātvāhaving known; on recognising
आत्मस्थम्ātmasthamstanding in one's own soul; abiding in one's own self
अमृतम्amṛtamthe immortal; the imperishable
विश्वधामviśvadhāmathe abode of the universe; the dwelling of all that is
Translation
He is higher than the tree, time and the forms, and other than they; from Him this unfolding of the world revolves. The bringer of dharma, the dispeller of sin, the lord of opulences, the immortal, the abode of the universe — having known Him who abides in one's own soul...
Version
e21d19d47a29 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The "tree" here is the very one on which the two birds sat (4.6) — the image of the round; "time" and "forms" complete the list. And of Him two words are said at once: paraḥ and anyaḥ — "higher" and "other". He is not the summit of this series but something of another order.
Then come three names, and in them is the whole moral cast of the Upaniṣad. Dharmāvaha — "the bringer of dharma": righteousness is not invented by men nor deduced from advantage, it is brought by Him. Pāpanuda — "the dispeller of sin": purification too is not our merit. Bhageśa — "lord of opulences": the same root as in the word "Bhagavān", and it means the fullness of every good.
Remarkably, all three names speak of giving, not of demanding. The God of this Upaniṣad does not so much prescribe righteousness as bestow it.
And again the place is indicated: ātma-stha, "abiding in one's own soul". For the second time running, after 6.5, it is repeated that He is to be sought within; the Upaniṣad seems afraid that the reader, hearing of the Lord of the universe, will start looking upward.
The last word, viśva-dhāma, "abode of the universe", puts everything in place: not He in the world, but the world in Him.