Upanishads · Mahā 4.12
॥
Devanāgarī
निरिच्छे संस्थिते रत्ने यथा लोकः प्रवर्तते सत्तामात्रे परे तत्त्वे तथैवायं जगद्गणः
Transliteration (IAST)
niricche saṃsthite ratne yathā lokaḥ pravartate sattāmātre pare tattve tathaivāyaṃ jagadgaṇaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
निरिच्छे संस्थिते रत्नेniricche saṃsthite ratnewhen the desireless gem lies there; with the jewel abiding without wishes
यथा लोकः प्रवर्ततेyathā lokaḥ pravartatehow the people are set in motion; in what way folk come into movement
सत्ता-मात्रे परे तत्त्वेsattā-mātre pare tattveso at the supreme truth that is mere being; thus with the highest reality that is only existence
तथा एव अयम् जगत्-गणःtathā eva ayam jagat-gaṇaḥso likewise this whole host of worlds; just so this whole multitude of the world
Translation
“As people are set in motion by a gem that itself desires nothing, so is this whole host of worlds — by the supreme truth that is mere being.”
Version
f8559a3e3797 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image answers the question that inevitably arises: if the Highest does not act, whence everything?
The answer: as from a gem.
The stone lies there and wants nothing — niriccha. And around it all seethes: it is sought, fought over, men sail across the sea for it. All this movement is caused by it, and not one movement has it made.
The word sattā-mātra — “mere being”. The Highest acts by the sole fact that it is.
This is an ancient and exact way of describing a causality that is not a push. Vedānta calls it presence, and the next two verses will examine it in detail.
Note that the image is not impersonal: the gem does not draw iron as a magnet does — it draws people by its worth. The cause of the movement is not force but excellence.