Upanishads · Mahā 5.145
॥
Devanāgarī
लीलयैव यदादत्ते दिक्कालकलितं वपुः तदेव जीवपर्यायवासनावेशतः परम्
Transliteration (IAST)
līlayaiva yadādatte dikkālakalitaṃ vapuḥ tadeva jīvaparyāyavāsanāveśataḥ param
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
लीलया एव यदा आदत्तेlīlayā eva yadā ādattewhen in mere play it takes on; when, sporting, it assumes
दिक्-काल-कलितम् वपुःdik-kāla-kalitam vapuḥa body cut to quarters and time; a body tailored by directions and time
तत् एव जीव-पर्यायtat eva jīva-paryāyathat same, by the jīva's turn; the very same, in the soul's succession
वासना-आवेशतः परम्vāsanā-āveśataḥ paramthrough the entry of vāsanās, thereafter; upon the indwelling of inclinations, further
Translation
“…when in play it takes on a body cut to the measure of the quarters and of time, that same body, becoming the jīva in turn, through the entry of the vāsanās…”
Version
abf57ec486ed · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
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The verse gives the beginning of the descent, and the beginning is named līlayā — “in play”.
This word is among the chief in Vaiṣṇava letters: līlā, “play, sport”. All that the Supreme does is neither labour nor need.
Note that the body is called dik-kāla-kalita — “cut to the measure of the quarters and of time”. A body is not matter but a pattern tailored to the measure of space and time.
And then — vāsanā-āveśataḥ, “through the entry of the vāsanās”.
The word āveśa means “entering, indwelling, possession”. The vāsanās do not grow in the jīva; they move into it.
A two-step picture results: first play, then possession.
The first is from Him; the second is already one's own doing (cf. 5.128: “by its own will it goes into bondage”).