Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 6.12
॥
Devanāgarī
एको वशी निष्क्रियाणां बहूणाम् एकं बीजं बहुधा यः करोति ।
तम् आत्मस्थं ये ऽनुपश्यन्ति धीरास् तेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषां
Transliteration (IAST)
eko vaśī niṣkriyāṇāṃ bahūṇām ekaṃ bījaṃ bahudhā yaḥ karoti /
tam ātmasthaṃ ye 'nupaśyanti dhīrās teṣāṃ sukhaṃ śāśvataṃ netareṣāṃ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एकः वशीekaḥ vaśīone who wields power; the single sovereign
निष्क्रियाणाम् बहूनाम्niṣkriyāṇām bahūnāmover the many inactive ones; over the multitude of the non-acting
एकम् बीजम्ekam bījamone seed; a single seed
बहुधाbahudhāmanifoldly; in many ways
यः करोतिyaḥ karotiwho makes; He who makes it
तम् आत्मस्थम्tam ātmasthamHim, abiding in oneself; Him who stands in one's own soul
ये अनुपश्यन्तिye anupaśyantithey who discern; those who look closely after Him
धीराःdhīrāḥthe steadfast; firm of mind
तेषाम् सुखम् शाश्वतम्teṣām sukham śāśvatamtheirs is everlasting happiness; for them the joy is unceasing
न इतरेषाम्na itareṣāmand no others'; and for no one else
Translation
He alone wields power over the many inactive ones; He makes one seed manifold. They who, being steadfast, discern Him within their own soul — theirs is everlasting happiness, and no others'.
Version
1b798bb2ddc3 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
"The many inactive ones", niṣkriyāḥ, are the souls. They are so called not in reproach: of themselves, without conjunction with nature, they produce no action; action begins when the Lord brings them together with a body, of which 5.12 spoke.
"One seed made manifold" is the same as the web of the previous mantra: the world unfolds from a single principle, and it is He who unfolds it.
The second half sets a condition, and the word chosen is a firm one: dhīrāḥ, "the steadfast". Not "the clever" and not "the learned"; a dhīra in śruti is one whose mind does not waver, who can hold a single direction.
The verb anupaśyanti, "they discern after", has already occurred at 1.15: the seeing follows the track of an indication, not one's own initiative. And the place is named for the third time in one adhyāya: ātma-stham, "in one's own soul".
And the promise is stated with a proviso rare in its directness: "theirs is everlasting happiness, and no others'", na itareṣām. The Upaniṣad is not afraid to draw a line. The happiness it speaks of is called śāśvata — "unceasing": unlike what the world gives, it does not end together with the cause that produced it.