Upanishads · Kaivalya 9
॥
Devanāgarī
स एव सर्वं यद् भूतं यच् च भव्यं सनातनम् ज्ञात्वा तं मृत्युम् अत्येति नान्यः पन्था विमुक्तये
Transliteration (IAST)
sa eva sarvaṃ yad bhūtaṃ yac ca bhavyaṃ sanātanam jñātvā taṃ mṛtyum atyeti nānyaḥ panthā vimuktaye
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः एव सर्वम् यत् भूतम्saḥ eva sarvam yat bhūtamhe is all that was; he is everything that has been
यत् च भव्यम् सनातनम्yat ca bhavyam sanātanamand what shall be, the eternal; and what is to come, the everlasting
ज्ञात्वा तम् मृत्युम् अत्येतिjñātvā tam mṛtyum atyetiknowing him, one crosses over death; having known him, one passes beyond dying
न अन्यः पन्थाः विमुक्तयेna anyaḥ panthāḥ vimuktayethere is no other path to release; no other road to freedom exists
Translation
He is all that was and all that shall be — the eternal; knowing Him, a man crosses over death; there is no other path to release.
Version
d213f236989d · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:04:38 AM UTC
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The first half of the verse is from the Puruṣa-sūkta: “he is all that was and all that shall be”.
The second is from the Śvetāśvatara, and it is famous: tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti, nānyaḥ panthā vidyate 'yanāya. Here it is quoted almost word for word.
It is worth parsing exactly what is said.
Mṛtyum atyeti — “he crosses over death”. Not “escapes” and not “conquers”: crosses, as one crosses a river.
And it is added: nānyaḥ panthā vimuktaye — “there is no other path to release”.
This is one of the sternest statements in śruti, and it should not be softened. But it must be understood exactly: it does not say “there is no other teaching” — it says “there is no other path”. The path is one — to know Him; and by what steps one comes to that knowing, the second verse has already named: by faith, bhakti and contemplation.
Note the word sanātana — “everlasting”. From it comes sanātana-dharma, by which the tradition names itself: not “the ancient faith”, but “that which always is”.
The next verse will say in what that knowing consists.