Upanishads · Mahā 6.61
॥
Devanāgarī
शून्यं तत्प्रकृतिर्माया ब्रह्मविज्ञानमित्यपि शिवः पुरुष ईशानो नित्यमात्मेति कथ्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
śūnyaṃ tatprakṛtirmāyā brahmavijñānamityapi śivaḥ puruṣa īśāno nityamātmeti kathyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शून्यम् तत् प्रकृतिः मायाśūnyam tat prakṛtiḥ māyāthe void, prakṛti, māyā; emptiness, prakṛti, māyā
ब्रह्म विज्ञानम् इति अपिbrahma vijñānam iti apialso Brahman, knowledge; likewise Brahman, cognition
शिवः पुरुषः ईशानःśivaḥ puruṣaḥ īśānaḥŚiva, Puruṣa, Īśāna; Śiva, Puruṣa, Īśāna
नित्यम् आत्मा इति कथ्यतेnityam ātmā iti kathyatethe eternal, the Ātman — so it is called; the everlasting, the Self — so they name it
Translation
“The void, prakṛti, māyā, Brahman, knowledge, Śiva, Puruṣa, Īśāna, the eternal, the Ātman — so it is called.”
Version
a463ac54b456 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A list of names, the second in the book after 5.130–5.132.
There were listed the names of what binds; here, the names of Him who is.
Ten words, and behind each stands a school: śūnya — the Buddhists, prakṛti — Sāṅkhya, māyā — Vedānta, śiva — the Śaivas, puruṣa — Sāṅkhya and Vedānta, īśāna — the Śaivas, ātman — the Upaniṣads.
Note the verb kathyate — “it is called”. Again of words, not of the thing.
This is breadth, but not indifference. The book does not say all doctrines are alike; it says their object is one.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta will add: one and the same is known as the impersonal radiance, as the Lord in the heart, and as the Person; and the whole difference of the schools lies in which of the three aspects they stopped at.
The next verse will say whose this power is.