Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 2.1
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वर्भूर्ज्योतिर्मयोऽनन्तरूपी स्वेनैव भासते । जीवत्वेन समो यस्य सृष्टिस्थितिलयस्य च
Transliteration (IAST)
svarbhūrjyotirmayo'nantarūpī svenaiva bhāsate | jīvatvena samo yasya sṛṣṭisthitilayasya ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्वर्भूः ज्योतिर्मयःsvarbhūḥ jyotirmayaḥself-existent, made of light; being of himself, consisting of light
अनन्तरूपीanantarūpīof endless forms; possessing boundless shapes
स्वेन एव भासतेsvena eva bhāsatehe shines by himself; he is radiant through himself
जीवत्वेन समः यस्यjīvatvena samaḥ yasyawho as the jīva is the same; who as the living being is that very one
सृष्टिस्थितिलयस्य चsṛṣṭisthitilayasya caand of creation, maintenance, dissolution; and of making, keeping, disappearance
Translation
Self-existent, made of light, of endless forms, He shines by himself; and He as the jīva is the same, and He is the cause of creation, maintenance and dissolution.
Version
19c14a80cb79 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second Upaniṣad is short — three verses — but in them the whole metaphysics of the book is laid.
The first line gives four definitions. Svarbhū — “existing of himself”: His being depends on nothing. Jyotirmaya — “made of light”. Ananta-rūpin — “of endless forms”: His forms are countless, a direct continuation of the first Upaniṣad, where the form was called a fashioning for the sake of the worshippers. And svenaiva bhāsate — “he shines by himself”, that is, is illumined by nothing.
Then comes the position on which the dispute of all the schools of Vedānta stands: “He as the jīva is the same.” The word jīvatvena — “in the state of the jīva, the living being”.
This can be read two ways, and the difference is great. One may understand: the soul is He, without difference. Or — and so Vaiṣṇava Vedānta reads — that which lives in the being is His own nature and no other; souls are of one essence with Him while remaining His parts.
The second reading is confirmed by this very book. In the uttara-tāpanī it will be said that He “shows Himself” to the worshipper and that the bhakta is dear to Him; and one does not give or love oneself. The same measure we saw in the Gopāla-tāpanī, where the words “that am I” stood beside the promise “I shall give thee Myself”.
And the last thing in the verse — the three works of the universe: creation, maintenance, dissolution. He who shines by himself and lives in each is also the cause of all three.