Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 6.14
॥
Devanāgarī
न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतो ऽयम् अग्निः ।
तम् एव भान्तम् अनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वम् इदं विभाति
Transliteration (IAST)
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto 'yam agniḥ /
tam eva bhāntam anubhāti sarvaṃ tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṃ vibhāti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न तत्र सूर्यः भातिna tatra sūryaḥ bhātithere the sun does not shine; there the sun gives no light
न चन्द्रतारकम्na candratārakamnor the moon and stars; nor the moon with the luminaries
न इमाः विद्युतः भान्तिna imāḥ vidyutaḥ bhāntithese lightnings do not shine; and these lightnings do not flash
कुतः अयम् अग्निःkutaḥ ayam agniḥhow then this fire; how should this earthly fire
तम् एव भान्तम्tam eva bhāntamHim alone, as He shines; only in the wake of His shining
अनुभाति सर्वम्anubhāti sarvameverything shines after; all the rest is lit
तस्य भासाtasya bhāsāby His light; by His radiance
सर्वम् इदम् विभातिsarvam idam vibhātiall this shines forth; this whole world is aglow
Translation
There the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars, nor do these lightnings flash — how then this earthly fire! Only in the wake of His shining does everything shine; by His light all this shines forth.
Version
10315d3bac7c · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A mantra known to everyone who has read the Upaniṣads: the Kaṭha has it and the Muṇḍaka too. It says that in His presence the luminaries are useless.
First comes a descending series of light-sources: the sun, the moon with the stars, the lightning and finally the household fire — "how then this". The list is built as a cutting off: everything by which we light our world is annulled at a stroke.
The annulment does not mean that it is dark there. On the contrary: the light is such that the luminaries cannot be distinguished in it, as a candle is invisible at noon.
The second half explains the origin of our own light too: "by His light all this shines forth". The sun is not abolished as false — it is explained as borrowed. Everything that shines in the world shines with what is not its own.
And the verb chosen is a remarkable one: anubhāti — "shines after". Not "reflects" and not "receives light", but shines in His train. The world is not a shadow, but neither is it an independent source; it is light's retinue.
Hence too the conclusion Vedānta draws for knowledge: since everything visible is visible by His light, He is that by which we see; to see Him by one's own light is impossible — one can only let Him disclose Himself.