Upanishads · Mahā 2.6
॥
Devanāgarī
चेतनोऽसौ प्रकाशत्वाद्वेद्याभावाच्छिलोपमः स्वात्मनि व्योमनि स्वस्थे जगदुन्मेषचित्रकृत्
Transliteration (IAST)
cetano'sau prakāśatvādvedyābhāvācchilopamaḥ svātmani vyomani svasthe jagadunmeṣacitrakṛt
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चेतनः असौ प्रकाशत्वात्cetanaḥ asau prakāśatvāthe is conscious, for he shines; he is sentient, being luminous
वेद्य-अभावात् शिला-उपमःvedya-abhāvāt śilā-upamaḥfor want of a knowable, like a stone; without an object of knowing, akin to rock
स्वात्मनि व्योमनि स्वस्थेsvātmani vyomani svasthein his own sky-self, self-abiding; in his own expanse, standing in himself
जगत्-उन्मेष-चित्र-कृत्jagat-unmeṣa-citra-kṛtmaking the picture of the world's unfolding; painting the opening-out of the world
Translation
He is conscious, for he is luminous; and like a stone, for there is nothing for Him to know. In His own expanse, abiding in Himself, He paints the picture of the unfolding world.
Version
fa81f271f9f7 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with a stone grates on the ear — and is set deliberately.
We call conscious the one who responds to something. The Ātman has nothing to respond to: there is nothing outside Him, no vedya, “knowable”. So by our measures He is indistinguishable from a boulder.
But this is the measure's failure, not a description. He is conscious not because He knows something, but because He shines — prakāśatva. Light is light even when there is nothing to illumine.
The verse's second half introduces an image that will run through the whole chapter: the world as a picture. The painter paints it upon himself — svātmani — and with the colours of himself.
Hence, by the way, the word citra: “picture”, “the many-coloured”, “a marvel”. The world is not made of a stuff laid down beside God. It simply has nowhere to come from except in Him.