Upanishads · Mahā 5.149
॥
Devanāgarī
शब्दस्पर्शस्वरूपाभ्यां संघर्षाज्जन्यतेऽनलः रूपतन्मात्रसहितं त्रिभिस्तैः सह संमितम्
Transliteration (IAST)
śabdasparśasvarūpābhyāṃ saṃgharṣājjanyate'nalaḥ rūpatanmātrasahitaṃ tribhistaiḥ saha saṃmitam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शब्द-स्पर्श-स्वरूपाभ्याम्śabda-sparśa-svarūpābhyāmfrom the natures of sound and touch; out of the essences of sounding and contact
सङ्घर्षात् जन्यते अनलःsaṅgharṣāt janyate analaḥby friction fire is born; through rubbing, flame is engendered
रूप-तन्मात्र-सहितम्rūpa-tanmātra-sahitamtogether with the subtle element of form; along with the first-element of shape
त्रिभिः तैः सह संमितम्tribhiḥ taiḥ saha saṃmitamcommensurate with those three; matched together with the said three
Translation
“…from the friction of the natures of sound and touch fire is born, together with the subtle element of form, commensurate with those three.”
Version
f8067a367fab · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third element: fire, and its property is form — that is, visibility.
Note the manner of birth: saṅgharṣa — “friction”.
Fire is obtained by friction, and the book takes this household experience as its model. Sound and touch, rubbing against each other, yield light.
This is not only beautiful but exact by the design of the series: the third element bears the properties of the first two plus its own.
Hence it is said tribhiḥ taiḥ saha saṃmitam — “commensurate with those three”: in fire there are already three properties.
With the element of form the visible first appears in the world.
Till now there was the audible and the palpable; now there is something to show.