Upanishads · Mahā 5.148
॥
Devanāgarī
भावयत्यनिलस्पन्दं स्पर्शबीजरसोन्मुखम् ताभ्यामाकाशवाताभ्यां दृढाभ्यासवशात्ततः
Transliteration (IAST)
bhāvayatyanilaspandaṃ sparśabījarasonmukham tābhyāmākāśavātābhyāṃ dṛḍhābhyāsavaśāttataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भावयति अनिल-स्पन्दम्bhāvayati anila-spandamit contemplates the vibration of wind; it nurtures the pulsation of the air
स्पर्श-बीज-रस-उन्मुखम्sparśa-bīja-rasa-unmukhambent toward the seed of touch; turned toward the seed of contact
ताभ्याम् आकाश-वाताभ्याम्tābhyām ākāśa-vātābhyāmby those two — space and wind; through the said pair, expanse and wind
दृढ-अभ्यास-वशात् ततःdṛḍha-abhyāsa-vaśāt tataḥby the power of firm practice, thereafter; by the sway of steadfast application, further
Translation
“…it contemplates the vibration of wind, bent toward the seed of touch; and then, by the power of firm practice, by those two — space and wind…”
Version
787a53cc895f · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second element: wind, and its property is touch.
Note the word anila-spanda — “the vibration of wind”. Wind is vibration; in 4.99 the same word spanda named the very nature of the mind.
The second half introduces a turn one does not usually meet in cosmogonies: dṛḍha-abhyāsa-vaśāt — “by the power of firm practice”.
The world-order unfolds by practice.
This is a direct parallel to what was said of man. In 5.15 it is said that an error, grown habitual (abhyāsa), becomes a many-formed dream; in 5.78 firm practice upon the one truth conquers the mind.
One and the same word works both upward and downward. The world is held by habit, as is our delusion.