Upanishads · Mahā 5.126
॥
Devanāgarī
मनो घनविकल्पं तु गच्छतीन्द्रियतां शनैः पाणिपादमयं देहमिन्द्रियाणि विदुर्बुधाः
Transliteration (IAST)
mano ghanavikalpaṃ tu gacchatīndriyatāṃ śanaiḥ pāṇipādamayaṃ dehamindriyāṇi vidurbudhāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मनः घन-विकल्पम् तुmanaḥ ghana-vikalpam tubut the mind, its differentiation thickened; the consciousness, though, wherein surmise has condensed
गच्छति इन्द्रियताम् शनैःgacchati indriyatām śanaiḥslowly becomes the senses; gradually turns into the senses
पाणि-पाद-मयम् देहम्pāṇi-pāda-mayam dehamthe body made of hands and feet; the body woven of palms and soles
इन्द्रियाणि विदुः बुधाःindriyāṇi viduḥ budhāḥthe wise know as the senses; the sages account the senses
Translation
“And the mind in which differentiation has thickened slowly becomes the senses; and the body of hands and feet the wise know as the senses.”
Version
c663f4a43a4b · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fourth and fifth steps: the senses and the body.
Note the key word: ghana-vikalpa — “thickened differentiation”.
Matter here is not a separate element that consciousness met on its way. It is the condensation of the selfsame thought.
This is the chief thought of the whole descent. Between consciousness and body there is no gulf; between them is a difference of density.
The word śanaiḥ — “slowly, gradually”. The mind does not turn into a body at a stroke.
And the last line: the body is named the senses. Not “made of matter”, but precisely that with which one feels.
Hence it is clear why the third chapter picked the body apart so exactingly: it was dissecting not matter, but a clot of differentiations.