Upanishads · Mahā 5.154
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मिंस्तु तीव्रसंवेगाद्भावयद्भासुरं वपुः स्थूलतामेति पाकेन मनो बिल्वफलं यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
tasmiṃstu tīvrasaṃvegādbhāvayadbhāsuraṃ vapuḥ sthūlatāmeti pākena mano bilvaphalaṃ yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्मिन् तु तीव्र-संवेगात्tasmin tu tīvra-saṃvegātin it, from an intense urge; within it, out of a fierce impulse
भावयत् भासुरम् वपुःbhāvayat bhāsuram vapuḥcontemplating a radiant body; nurturing a shining frame
स्थूलताम् एति पाकेनsthūlatām eti pākenait comes to grossness by ripening; it reaches solidity through maturation
मनः बिल्व-फलम् यथाmanaḥ bilva-phalam yathāthe mind — like the bilva fruit; consciousness, just like the fruit of the bilva
Translation
“In it, contemplating from an intense urge a radiant body, the mind comes to grossness by ripening — like the bilva fruit.”
Version
2561420e1ddd · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The passage to the gross body, and it is named pāka — “ripening, cooking”.
The bilva is a tree with large hard fruit. Its fruit ripens long and grows dense.
The image is good in that there is no violence in it. The body is neither hammered together nor moulded; it has ripened.
Note tīvra-saṃvega — “an intense urge”. The word saṃvega means “impetuosity, passionate impulse”, and in the yogic books, the force of striving.
That is, density comes from the strength of wanting. The stronger the urge, the denser the result.
This agrees with 5.128: the mind goes into bondage “by its own will”, and the firmer the will, the tougher the cocoon.
Bhāsuraṃ vapuḥ — “a radiant body”. Even the gross body is first contemplated as radiant.