Upanishads · Pañcabrahma p5
॥
Devanāgarī
सर्वेषां दिव्यानां प्रेरयिता ईशान इति । ईशानो भूतभव्यस्य सर्वेषां देवयोगिनाम्
Transliteration (IAST)
sarveṣāṃ divyānāṃ prerayitā īśāna iti | īśāno bhūtabhavyasya sarveṣāṃ devayoginām
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सर्वेषां दिव्यानां प्रेरयिताsarveṣāṃ divyānāṃ prerayitāthe impeller of all the heavenly ones
ईशानः इतिīśānaḥ iti"Īśāna"
ईशानः भूत-भव्यस्यīśānaḥ bhūta-bhavyasyathe lord of what was and what is to be
सर्वेषां देव-योगिनाम्sarveṣāṃ deva-yogināmof all gods and yogīs
Translation
"— 'The impeller of all the heavenly ones is Īśāna'; the lord of what was and what is to be, [the lord] of all gods and yogīs."
Version
bf3f4ede95f2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth face: Īśāna, "lord," and beside it the qualifier preraitā, "impeller." The word preraitā comes from pra-ir, "to set in motion, to impel"; and it is the very word by which the Vedas denote the action of the highest upon the rest. It is worth comparing this with the gāyatrī, where a kindred verb stands: dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt, "may he impel our understandings" (Ṛgveda 3.62.10).
Of the ladder of the three verbs of the gāyatrī it was said when reading the Gaṇapati (8.1), and there the chief point was noted: the last action, impelling, does not belong to the one who prays. Here the same thing is said through a qualifier: He is the One who impels. The Vaiṣṇava side stands on this and states the same in the Gītā's most decisive verse: īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṃ hṛd-deśe'rjuna tiṣṭhati, bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantra-ārūḍhāni māyayā — "the Lord dwells in the heart of all beings and turns all beings, mounted on a machine, by the power of māyā" (18.61).
The word bhrāmayan, "turning," is harsh, and it is worth saying how it is read, so that it does not seem to make a person a puppet. It is read thus: He turns — but the very next verse says tam eva śaraṇaṃ gaccha, "go to Him alone for refuge" (18.62); and refuge is an act of will. That is, impelling and choice are set side by side, and the book does not reconcile them. Vaiṣṇava commentators explain this through anumati, "permission": He allows what a person wants to come to pass, and in that sense He turns — but the wanting remains the person's own.