Upanishads · Mahā 5.165
॥
Devanāgarī
न जायते न म्रियते क्वचित्किंचित्कदाचन परमार्थेन विप्रेन्द्र मिथ्या सर्वं तु दृश्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
na jāyate na mriyate kvacitkiṃcitkadācana paramārthena viprendra mithyā sarvaṃ tu dṛśyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न जायते न म्रियतेna jāyate na mriyateis not born and does not die; neither comes to birth nor perishes
क्वचित् किंचित् कदाचनkvacit kiṃcit kadācananowhere, nothing, never; in no place, no thing, at no time
परम-अर्थेन विप्र-इन्द्रparama-arthena vipra-indraby the ultimate truth, O chief of brāhmaṇas; by the final reckoning, O lord among brāhmaṇas
मिथ्या सर्वम् तु दृश्यतेmithyā sarvam tu dṛśyateyet all that is seen is false; all the visible, however, is illusory
Translation
“Nowhere, nothing, never is born or dies — by the ultimate truth, O chief of brāhmaṇas; yet all that is seen is false.”
Version
ba3044b92a8e · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse repeats 4.119 and sets it immediately after the account of creation.
The order is deliberate. First it is told in detail how everything arose; and at once it is said that nothing arises.
There is no contradiction, if the proviso is held: paramārthena — “by the ultimate truth”.
It is the pair of vyavahāra, “usage” (cf. 5.108). All that was told of the unfolding of the elements and of Brahmā is true in usage; in the final account nothing is born.
Note the triple negation: kvacit kiṃcit kadācana — “nowhere, nothing, never”. Place, thing and time are all three closed.
Mithyā — “false”. In Vedānta this word means not “non-existent” but “not what it seems”; it belongs with the pair sat and asat and denotes a third.