Upanishads · Mahā 4.83
॥
Devanāgarī
मरुभूमौ जलं सर्वं मरुभूमात्रमेव तत् जगत्त्रयमिदं सर्वं चिन्मात्रं स्वविचारतः
Transliteration (IAST)
marubhūmau jalaṃ sarvaṃ marubhūmātrameva tat jagattrayamidaṃ sarvaṃ cinmātraṃ svavicārataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मरुभूमौ जलम् सर्वम्marubhūmau jalam sarvamin the desert land all the water; in the wilderness the whole of the moisture
मरुभू-मात्रम् एव तत्marubhū-mātram eva tatis nothing but the desert itself; it is nothing other than the very desert
जगत्-त्रयम् इदम् सर्वम्jagat-trayam idam sarvamall these three worlds; this whole triple world
चिन्-मात्रम् स्व-विचारतःcin-mātram sva-vicārataḥare consciousness alone, on one's own inquiry; is nothing but awareness, if you examine for yourself
Translation
“All the water in the desert is but the desert itself; so all these three worlds, if you examine for yourself, are pure consciousness.”
Version
e6d14cb4f829 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mirage image, but taken from an unaccustomed side.
Usually it is said: the water in the desert is false. Here it is said otherwise: “all the water in the desert is the desert itself”.
That is, what is pointed out is not the water's absence but what it is made of. The seeming water consists of sand and heat.
The transfer: the three worlds consist of consciousness.
Note that this is not the same as “the worlds are not”. The desert exists, and very really. The error is not in seeing something, but in what one takes that something to be.
And the last two words: sva-vicārataḥ — “on one's own inquiry”.
This returns to the second gatekeeper (4.2). Not to take it on trust, but to examine oneself. For the third time in the chapter the teacher refers the pupil to his own verification — as in 4.5, where one's own experience stands level with scripture and preceptor.