Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.49
॥
Devanāgarī
ज्ञानस्वरूपमेवाहुर्जगदेतद्विलक्षणम् । अर्थस्वरूपमज्ञानात्पश्यन्त्यन्ये कुदृष्टयः
Transliteration (IAST)
jñānasvarūpamevāhurjagadetadvilakṣaṇam | arthasvarūpamajñānātpaśyantyanye kudṛṣṭayaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ज्ञान-स्वरूपम् एव आहुःjñāna-svarūpam eva āhuḥhaving as essence knowledge, they call
जगत् एतत् विलक्षणम्jagat etat vilakṣaṇamthis differentiated world
अर्थ-स्वरूपम् अ-ज्ञानात्artha-svarūpam a-jñānāthaving as essence a thing, from ignorance
पश्यन्ति अन्ये कु-दृष्टयःpaśyanti anye ku-dṛṣṭayaḥothers, seeing badly, see it
Translation
"They call this differentiated world as having knowledge for its essence; others, seeing badly, from ignorance see it as having a thing for its essence."
Version
6d2441d1e109 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The line sets out a position called, in Indian literature, drishti-srishti-vada, "the teaching that seeing creates the seen": the world is knowledge, not a thing. The opponents are named ku-drishtayah, "those who see badly"; that is, those who hold the world material. It is worth examining what is actually asserted here, for this position is often understood more crudely than it is.
It is not asserted that the world does not exist and is a dream. It is asserted that its essence is consciousness, not matter; that what we take for independent things are, in fact, images in consciousness. The Vaishnava side occupies a middle position here, and it deserves stating precisely, for it is constantly confused with one side or the other.