Upanishads · Mahā 4.85
॥
Devanāgarī
अधिष्ठानमनौपम्यमवाङ्मनसगोचरम् नित्यं विभुं सर्वगतं सुसूक्ष्मं च तदव्ययम्
Transliteration (IAST)
adhiṣṭhānamanaupamyamavāṅmanasagocaram nityaṃ vibhuṃ sarvagataṃ susūkṣmaṃ ca tadavyayam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अधिष्ठानम् अनौपम्यम्adhiṣṭhānam anaupamyamthe substrate, incomparable; the underlying ground, likened to nothing
अवाक्-मनस-गोचरम्avāk-manasa-gocarambeyond the range of speech and mind; falling under neither speech nor consciousness
नित्यम् विभुम् सर्व-गतम्nityam vibhum sarva-gatameternal, all-embracing, omnipresent; everlasting, all-encompassing, all-pervading
सु-सूक्ष्मम् च तत् अव्ययम्su-sūkṣmam ca tat avyayamand most subtle, imperishable; and finest of all, undecaying
Translation
“The substrate, incomparable, beyond the range of speech and mind, eternal, all-embracing, omnipresent, most subtle and imperishable.”
Version
341f848d23ec · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Six attributes, and the first of them is the most substantial: adhiṣṭhāna, “the substrate, the underlying ground”.
In Vedānta this word means that upon which an appearance appears: the rope on which the snake appears; the desert on which the water appears.
This answers the question that remains after all the talk of phantasm. A phantasm must appear upon something; nothing shows nothing.
The rest of the attributes are familiar. Anaupamya — “incomparable”: there is nothing to set beside it, for all else is from Him. Avāṅ-manasa-gocara — “no pasture for speech and mind”, a turn from the Taittirīya, already heard in 4.56.
Note the pair vibhu — sarva-gata — su-sūkṣma: “all-embracing”, “omnipresent”, and at once “most subtle”. The greatest and the smallest together — the same conjunction as in 2.3–2.4.
And last: avyaya, “imperishable”. From Him is taken, and He is not diminished.