Upanishads · Mahā 4.70
॥
Devanāgarī
परात्परं यन्महतो महान्तं स्वरूपतेजोमयशाश्वतं शिवम् कविं पुराणं पुरुषं सनातनं सर्वेश्वरं सर्वदेवैरुपास्यम्
Transliteration (IAST)
parātparaṃ yanmahato mahāntaṃ svarūpatejomayaśāśvataṃ śivam kaviṃ purāṇaṃ puruṣaṃ sanātanaṃ sarveśvaraṃ sarvadevairupāsyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
परात् परम् यत् महतः महान्तम्parāt param yat mahataḥ mahāntamwhat is higher than the highest, greater than the great; that which is beyond the supreme, vaster than the vast
स्वरूप-तेजः-मय-शाश्वतम्svarūpa-tejaḥ-maya-śāśvatameternal, woven of the light of its own nature; everlasting, made of the radiance of its proper essence
शिवम् कविम् पुराणम्śivam kavim purāṇambenign, the seer, ancient; gracious, far-seeing, primordial
पुरुषम् सनातनम्puruṣam sanātanamthe everlasting Puruṣa; the Man from before time
सर्व-ईश्वरम् सर्व-देवैः उपास्यम्sarva-īśvaram sarva-devaiḥ upāsyamLord of all, worshipped by all the gods; Master of everything, adored by all the deities
Translation
“…that which is higher than the highest and greater than the great, eternal, woven of the light of its own nature, benign, the seer, ancient — the everlasting Puruṣa, Lord of all, whom all the gods worship.”
Version
20fa132306e5 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is composed almost entirely of turns from the Śvetāśvatara, and this is no coincidence: there too occur parāt param, kaviṃ purāṇam and sarveśvaram.
What matters is what follows the list.
Till now the chapter spoke of Brahman abstractly: “without qualities”, “solid consciousness”. Here words of another kind appear.
Puruṣa — “the Man, the Person”. Sarva-īśvara — “Lord of all”. And finally sarva-devair upāsyam — “worshipped by all the gods”.
The last settles the matter. Only one who receives worship can be worshipped. To an abstract principle one does not bow — one identifies with it.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta sees here what it sees in the Śvetāśvatara: one and the same Reality is known both as impersonal radiance and as a Person, and the second is not lower than the first but fuller. Verse 4.69 spoke of nirguṇa; this one — of Him whose property nirguṇa is.
The sixth adhyāya will call Him by name.