Upanishads · Mahā 4.46
॥
Devanāgarī
तेनेयमिन्द्रजालश्रीर्जगति प्रवितन्यते द्रष्टुदृश्यस्य सत्तान्तर्बन्ध इत्यभिधीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
teneyamindrajālaśrīrjagati pravitanyate draṣṭudṛśyasya sattāntarbandha ityabhidhīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तेन इयम् इन्द्रजाल-श्रीःtena iyam indrajāla-śrīḥthereby this splendour of illusion; hence this glory of the phantasm
जगति प्रवितन्यतेjagati pravitanyateis stretched out over the world; is spread abroad through the world
द्रष्टृ-दृश्यस्य सत्ता-अन्तःdraṣṭṛ-dṛśyasya sattā-antaḥthe being of seer and seen within; the presence of the looker and the looked-upon inside
बन्धः इति अभिधीयतेbandhaḥ iti abhidhīyateis called bondage; is named the fetters
Translation
“Thereby this splendour of illusion is stretched out over the world; and the being of seer and seen within is called bondage.”
Version
9c7423d6789c · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
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The word indrajāla means “Indra's net” — so is named the conjurer's art, a phantasm, the display of what is not.
It is called śrī — “splendour, glory”. The phantasm is not shabby; it is sumptuous, and therein is its power.
The second half gives a definition of bondage, and it is unexpectedly exact: bandha is sattā draṣṭṛ-dṛśyasya — “the being of seer and seen”.
That is, it is not the things themselves that bind, but the duality itself: that there is an I-who-looks and an it-that-is-seen, standing face to face.
This repeats 2.69, where out of the triad “seer — seeing — seen” the middle one was pointed to. Here the same from the other end: the extremes are the fetters.
Note where this leads practically. One is freed not by destroying the objects, but by ceasing to stand facing them as strangers.