Upanishads · Mahā 5.122
॥
Devanāgarī
रूपं परिमितेनासौ भावयत्यविभाविता यदैवं भावितं रूपं तया परमकान्तया
Transliteration (IAST)
rūpaṃ parimitenāsau bhāvayatyavibhāvitā yadaivaṃ bhāvitaṃ rūpaṃ tayā paramakāntayā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
रूपम् परिमितेन असौrūpam parimitena asaushe a form, by means of the limited; she an image, through the bounded
भावयति अविभाविताbhāvayati avibhāvitācontemplates, herself uncontemplated; nurtures in thought, herself not conceived
यदा एवम् भावितम् रूपम्yadā evam bhāvitam rūpamwhen thus the form has been contemplated; when in this way the shape has been conceived
तया परम-कान्तयाtayā parama-kāntayāby her, the most beautiful one; by her, the loveliest of all
Translation
“She, herself uncontemplated, contemplates a form by means of the limited; and when the form has thus been contemplated by her, the most beautiful one…”
Version
529753a2fbef · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The account begins of how the world unfolds out of consciousness, and it unfolds through contemplation.
Bhāvayati — “she contemplates, nurtures by thought”. The same verb by which in 4.15 and 5.56 the pupil is bidden to contemplate oneness.
That is, the Goddess-power does what our mind does — only with her it creates worlds.
Note parimitena — “by means of the limited”. She thinks the form through measure, through limitation. The boundless has no form; form begins where a bound is set.
While she herself is avibhāvitā — “uncontemplated”, that is, conceived by no one.
And the epithet: parama-kāntā — “the most beautiful”. The word kāntā means “beloved, a beauty”.
The book speaks of the world's unfolding with tenderness, not with censure.