Upanishads · Mahā 5.119
॥
Devanāgarī
तन्मयैव स्फुरत्यच्छा तत्रैवोर्मिरिवार्णवे आत्मन्येवात्मना व्योम्नि यथा सरसि मारुतः
Transliteration (IAST)
tanmayaiva sphuratyacchā tatraivormirivārṇave ātmanyevātmanā vyomni yathā sarasi mārutaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तन्मया एव स्फुरति अच्छाtanmayā eva sphurati acchāof its very substance it sparkles, clear; out of it alone it shimmers, transparent
तत्र एव ऊर्मिः इव अर्णवेtatra eva ūrmiḥ iva arṇaveright there, like a wave in the ocean; in that same place, as a billow in the sea
आत्मनि एव आत्मना व्योम्निātmani eva ātmanā vyomniin itself, by itself, in the expanse; within its very self, through itself, in the heavens
यथा सरसि मारुतःyathā sarasi mārutaḥas the wind over a lake; just like a breeze above a pool
Translation
“Clear, it sparkles out of that very substance — right there, like a wave in the ocean; in itself and by itself, like the wind in the expanse over a lake.”
Version
fe81102520b5 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The wave image is unfolded and reinforced by a second: the wind over a lake.
In both cases one and the same word is stressed: eva — “precisely, that very”.
Tatraiva — “right there”. Ātmany eva ātmanā — “in itself and by itself”.
The wave does not come into the ocean from somewhere; it rises in it, out of it and by it.
Note the second image. The wind over the lake is not the lake — and the ripple on the water is nevertheless water.
Together the two comparisons give what neither could alone: the actor and that on which it acts are one, and yet the stirring is distinguishable from the calm surface.
The word acchā — “transparent, clear”. The ripple does not muddy the water.