Upanishads · Mahā 4.67
॥
Devanāgarī
कल्पं क्षणीकरोत्यन्तः क्षणं नयति कल्पताम् मनोविलाससंसार इति मे निश्चिता मतिः
Transliteration (IAST)
kalpaṃ kṣaṇīkarotyantaḥ kṣaṇaṃ nayati kalpatām manovilāsasaṃsāra iti me niścitā matiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कल्पम् क्षणीकरोति अन्तःkalpam kṣaṇīkaroti antaḥwithin, it makes a kalpa an instant; inside, it turns an aeon into a moment
क्षणम् नयति कल्पताम्kṣaṇam nayati kalpatāmit turns an instant into a kalpa; it brings a moment to the length of an age
मनः-विलास-संसारःmanaḥ-vilāsa-saṃsāraḥsaṁsāra is the play of the mind; the round is the diversion of consciousness
इति मे निश्चिता मतिःiti me niścitā matiḥsuch is my settled conviction; such is my established judgment
Translation
“Within, it makes an aeon of an instant and an instant of an aeon. The round is the play of the mind: such is my settled conviction.”
Version
4486a0a62a00 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The proof from time, and everyone can verify it.
An hour at a sick-bed and an hour in good conversation are not the same. The mind stretches and compresses time by its own measure.
The word kalpa is a world-age, an unthinkable measure; kṣaṇa — an instant. For the mind there is no difference between them.
If even time — the thing that seems to us most objective — is so obedient to the mind, what is left to lean on as “outer”?
Hence the conclusion: manaḥ-vilāsa-saṃsāraḥ — “the round is the play of the mind”.
The word vilāsa means “diversion, play, sport”. Not “evil work”, but precisely play.
And the last line is personal: iti me niścitā matiḥ — “such is my settled judgment”. The teacher says not “so it is taught” but “so I have concluded”. He vouches with himself.