Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 6.11
॥
Devanāgarī
एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ।
कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश् च
Transliteration (IAST)
eko devaḥ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ sarvavyāpī sarvabhūtāntarātmā /
karmādhyakṣaḥ sarvabhūtādhivāsaḥ sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaś ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एकः देवःekaḥ devaḥthe one God; the single Deity
सर्वभूतेषु गूढःsarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥhidden in all beings; concealed in every creature
सर्वव्यापीsarvavyāpīall-pervading; penetrating everything
सर्वभूतान्तरात्माsarvabhūtāntarātmāthe inner soul of all beings; the Ātman within each
कर्माध्यक्षःkarmādhyakṣaḥoverseer of deeds; who watches over actions
सर्वभूताधिवासःsarvabhūtādhivāsaḥdwelling in all beings; whose dwelling is every creature
साक्षीsākṣīthe witness; the eyewitness
चेताcetāthe conscious one; the thinking one
केवलःkevalaḥalone; self-sufficient
निर्गुणः चnirguṇaḥ caand without qualities; and devoid of the guṇas
Translation
One God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the inner soul of all beings, the overseer of deeds, dwelling in all, the witness, the conscious one, alone and without guṇas.
Version
ed3df0e18967 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra lists His names one after another, without a verb — as one lists the features of a face. And every name adds a relation.
"Hidden in all beings" and "the inner soul of all beings" are what will later be called the antaryāmin, the Inner Ruler. "Overseer of deeds", karmādhyakṣa — He in whose presence every deed is done; note that the overseer neither prevents the doing nor is absent. "Witness", sākṣī — literally "one who is at the eyes": an eyewitness present on the spot.
Remarkable is the neighbourhood of the last two words: kevala and nirguṇa — "alone" and "without qualities". It is precisely this line that people like to cite in proof that Brahman is devoid of qualities. But in this same adhyāya, two mantras earlier, He is called guṇī, "possessor of qualities" (6.2), and at 6.8 it is said that knowledge, might and action are innate to Him.
The way out of the contradiction was found long ago and is simple: nirguṇa means "without the guṇas of nature" — without sattva, rajas and tamas, of which the world is woven. He is not tinged with matter; but His own perfections are with Him. So all theistic ācāryas read this passage, and so any school must read it that wishes to reconcile the Upaniṣad with itself.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites this mantra in showing that the Lord is hidden in every being as its inner soul, and that the "qualitylessness" of śruti does not cancel His good qualities.