Upanishads · Mahāvākya p14
॥
Devanāgarī
आदित्यवर्णं तमसस्तु पारे
Transliteration (IAST)
ādityavarṇaṃ tamasastu pāre
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आदित्य-वर्णं तमसः तु पारेāditya-varṇaṃ tamasaḥ tu pāreof the color of the sun, beyond the darkness
Translation
«Of the color of the sun, beyond the darkness.»
Version
a16b1c328870 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A fragment of a verse is cited, known throughout Vedic literature; in full it stands in the Śvetāśvatara (3.8) and in the Puruṣa-sūkta. Here it is in full: vedāham etaṃ puruṣaṃ mahāntam āditya-varṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt, tam eva viditvā'ti mṛtyum eti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate'yanāya — “I know this great Man, of the color of the sun, beyond the darkness; only by knowing Him do they pass beyond death; there is no other path to the end.” The Vaiṣṇava side holds this verse as one of its chief foundations, and it is worth examining why.
First: it says puruṣam, “Man,” in the accusative case. Not “that,” not “the existent,” not “the infinite” — a person, and moreover in the case of a direct object: He is known. Second: vedāham, “I know,” in the first person. The speaker testifies about himself; and this testimony is not reasoning, but an eyewitness's report.
Third: tam eva viditvā, “only by knowing Him.” The particle eva, “precisely, only,” is placed where all else is excluded. Fourth: nānyaḥ panthā vidyate'yanāya, “there is no other path to the end.”
The verse, then, contains four assertions at once: the Highest is a Person; He is knowable; He alone is known; there is no other path. Note, too, that this book quotes only two words of it here — āditya-varṇam tamasas tu pare, “of the color of the sun, beyond the darkness” — that is, the description, not what follows it. But three lines on it will quote the continuation too (p17); and there we shall return to this.