Upanishads · Mahā 4.19
॥
Devanāgarī
अब्धिवद्धतमर्याद भवति विशदाशयाः नियतिं न विमुञ्चन्ति महान्तो भास्करा इव
Transliteration (IAST)
abdhivaddhatamaryāda bhavati viśadāśayāḥ niyatiṃ na vimuñcanti mahānto bhāskarā iva
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अब्धि-वत् हत-मर्यादाःabdhi-vat hata-maryādāḥlike the ocean, they break no bounds; just as the sea, they overstep no limit
भवन्ति विशद-आशयाःbhavanti viśada-āśayāḥthey are bright in their intents; they prove clear in their aspirations
नियतिम् न विमुञ्चन्तिniyatim na vimuñcantithey do not abandon the appointed order; they do not forsake the established rule
महान्तः भास्कराः इवmahāntaḥ bhāskarāḥ ivathe great ones, like suns; great, just like the luminaries
Translation
“Like the ocean, they do not overstep the bound; they are bright in their intents; great, they do not abandon the appointed order — like suns.”
Version
994fca804ff7 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two images, and both are of constancy in law.
The ocean “breaks no bounds” — an ancient comparison: the sea comes up to the shore and stops. It has strength enough to flood the land, and it does not.
Herein is the essence of measure: not in impotence, but in the strong one holding the line.
The second image is the sun. It misses no sunrise and does not rise in the west. Greatness and exactness here are one.
The word niyati means “the established order, the rule, what is appointed”. The righteous do not abandon it.
This is an important qualification to all that has been said of freedom. The liberated man is neither above the rules nor outside them; he simply needs no compulsion to follow them. From outside the difference is nil; from inside it is total.