Upanishads · Kaivalya 6
॥
Devanāgarī
अचिन्त्यम् अव्यक्तम् अनन्तरूपं शिवं प्रशान्तम् अमृतं ब्रह्मयोनिम् तम् आदिमध्यान्तविहीनम् एकं विभुं चिदानन्दम् अरूपम् अद्भुतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
acintyam avyaktam anantarūpaṃ śivaṃ praśāntam amṛtaṃ brahmayonim tam ādimadhyāntavihīnam ekaṃ vibhuṃ cidānandam arūpam adbhutam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अचिन्त्यम् अव्यक्तम् अनन्तरूपम्acintyam avyaktam anantarūpamthe unthinkable, unmanifest, of endless form; the inconceivable, invisible one, of countless shapes
शिवम् प्रशान्तम् अमृतम् ब्रह्मयोनिम्śivam praśāntam amṛtam brahmayonimthe auspicious, tranquil, immortal, the womb of Brahmā; the gracious, serene, deathless one, the source of Brahmā
तम् आदिमध्यान्तविहीनम् एकम्tam ādimadhyāntavihīnam ekamhim, devoid of beginning, middle and end, the one; him who has neither start nor middle nor edge, the single one
विभुम् चिदानन्दम् अरूपम् अद्भुतम्vibhum cidānandam arūpam adbhutamall-pervading, consciousness-and-bliss, formless, wondrous; omnipresent, cit-ānanda, shapeless, marvellous
Translation
...the unthinkable, unmanifest, of endless form, the auspicious, tranquil, immortal — the womb of Brahmā, devoid of beginning, middle and end, the one, all-pervading, consciousness-and-bliss, formless and wondrous...
Version
b07ce07a3934 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:04:38 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here begins the description of Him who is contemplated in the heart-lotus, and its first words are negations.
Acintya — “unthinkable”; avyakta — “unmanifest”; arūpa — “formless”.
But between them stand positive words too, and note which are the majority: śiva — “auspicious”; praśānta — “tranquil”; amṛta — “immortal”; cidānanda — “consciousness-and-bliss”; adbhuta — “wondrous”.
Such is the usual construction of these passages. The negations remove the means of grasping, not the content. To one who would say the unthinkable is empty, the book answers with the neighbouring word: it is good, and it is bliss.
Note also anantarūpa — “of endless form” — set beside arūpa, “formless”.
The two words in one verse seem to quarrel. But there is no contradiction: He has no form by which He would be bound, and for that reason His shapes are without number.
The same pair we read in the Rāma-tāpanī, where ananta-rūpa stood before the description of one single form.
And the last: brahma-yoni, “the womb of Brahmā” — the source of Brahmā the creator himself. He to whom Āśvalāyana put his question points above himself.