Upanishads · Mahā 2.48
॥
Devanāgarī
संवेद्येन हृदाकाशे मनागपि न लिप्यते यस्यासावजडा संवित्स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
saṃvedyena hṛdākāśe manāgapi na lipyate yasyāsāvajaḍā saṃvitsa jīvanmukta ucyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
संवेद्येन हृत्-आकाशेsaṃvedyena hṛt-ākāśeby the knowable, in the sky of the heart; by the object of knowing, in the heart's expanse
मनाक् अपि न लिप्यतेmanāk api na lipyatenot even slightly is stained; is not soiled in the least
यस्य असौ अजडा संवित्yasya asau ajaḍā saṃvitwhose is that unbenumbed awareness; whose consciousness is alive, not inert
सः जीवन्मुक्तः उच्यतेsaḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living; he is named free while yet alive
Translation
“Whose living awareness in the expanse of the heart is not in the least stained by the knowable — he is called liberated while living.”
Version
805ad94ac519 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The seventh mark speaks of how knowledge touches the knower.
The verb lipyate — “is smeared, sticks” — is the same as in the famous verses about the lotus leaf in water. The man knows, but the known does not stick to him.
This must be distinguished from insensibility, and the book itself sets the guard: ajaḍā saṁvit — “an awareness not inert”. Jaḍa means “inanimate, dull as stone”. So the speech is not of blunting.
Recall verse 2.6, where the Ātman was called “like a stone” for want of an object of knowledge. Here the same position is described from within the man: the object is there, and there is no sticking.
The expression hṛd-ākāśa, “the expanse of the heart”, is a constant image of these books: the heart as a sky through which the clouds of impressions pass. The sky is none the worse for the clouds.