Upanishads · Mahā 4.122
॥
Devanāgarī
यैषा स्वभावाभिमतं स्वयं संकल्प्य धावति चिच्चैत्यं स्वयमम्लानं माननान्मन उच्यते अतः संकल्पसिद्धेयं संकल्पेनैव नश्यति
Transliteration (IAST)
yaiṣā svabhāvābhimataṃ svayaṃ saṃkalpya dhāvati ciccaityaṃ svayamamlānaṃ mānanānmana ucyate ataḥ saṃkalpasiddheyaṃ saṃkalpenaiva naśyati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
या एषा स्वभाव-अभिमतम्yā eṣā svabhāva-abhimatamshe who what her own nature holds dear; she who, what her essence loves
स्वयम् सङ्कल्प्य धावतिsvayam saṅkalpya dhāvatihaving herself designed, runs after it; having herself imagined, gallops off
चित्-चैत्यम् स्वयम् अम्लानम्cit-caityam svayam amlānamconsciousness and the cognized, itself unfading; awareness and the aware-of, itself unwithering
माननात् मनः उच्यतेmānanāt manaḥ ucyatefrom opining is called mind; by its deeming is named consciousness
अतः सङ्कल्प-सिद्धा इयम्ataḥ saṅkalpa-siddhā iyamhence, accomplished by design; therefore, brought about by intent
सङ्कल्पेन एव नश्यतिsaṅkalpena eva naśyatiby design alone it perishes; by intent alone it is destroyed
Translation
“She who, having herself designed what her nature holds dear, runs after it — consciousness and the cognized, itself unfading — is called mind from its opining; and therefore, made by design, by design alone it perishes.”
Version
18730dbc8339 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse gives the last definition of the mind and — what matters more — the method.
Mānanāt manaḥ ucyate — “it is called mind from opining”. The word manas is derived from the root man, “to opine, to suppose”. The mind is an opinion about things, not the things themselves.
And the conclusion in the last line: saṅkalpa-siddhā saṅkalpenaiva naśyati — “made by design, by design alone it perishes”.
This is an important correction to all that was said of non-designing. It turns out that design not only binds but also unbinds — when it is aimed at its proper object.
The next verse will show this by an example, and there all will become clear.
Note the image: svayaṃ saṅkalpya dhāvati — “having herself designed, she gallops off”. The mind does not respond to the world; it first imagines for itself the desired, and then runs after it. The order is the reverse of what it seems to us.