Upanishads · Pañcabrahma 17
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वमायावैभवान्सर्वान्संहृत्य स्वात्मनि स्थितः । पञ्चब्रह्मात्मकातीतो भासते स्वस्वतेजसा
Transliteration (IAST)
svamāyāvaibhavānsarvānsaṃhṛtya svātmani sthitaḥ | pañcabrahmātmakātīto bhāsate svasvatejasā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्व-माया-वैभवान् सर्वान्sva-māyā-vaibhavān sarvānall the manifestations of His own māyā
संहृत्य स्व-आत्मनि स्थितःsaṃhṛtya sva-ātmani sthitaḥhaving gathered back, He abides in His own self
पञ्च-ब्रह्म-आत्मक-अतीतःpañca-brahma-ātmaka-atītaḥhaving transcended what consists of the five brahmans
भासते स्व-स्व-तेजसाbhāsate sva-sva-tejasāHe shines by His own light
Translation
"Having gathered back all the manifestations of His own māyā, He abides in His own self; having transcended what consists of the five brahmans, He shines by His own light."
Version
c87c0875e9b1 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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It is worth noting the phrase sva-māyā-vaibhavān, "the manifestations of His own māyā." The word vaibhava means "majesty, abundance, the manifestation of power"; and māyā is called here not delusion but the manifestation of majesty. Sva, "one's own," is also added; and the meaning of this word was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (10.2), where the Gītā's verse mama māyā, "My māyā," was cited (7.14).
Let us repeat briefly: what belongs to someone is not nonexistent; and what has an owner is not explained as a pure misunderstanding. Let us add what this very passage yields. If māyā is vaibhava, "the manifestation of majesty," then it is not corruption and not error. It is that by which He shows Himself; and the world, read this way, turns out to be not an obstruction to sight but its very object.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds to this and so does not teach flight from the world. Her rule is yukta-vairāgya, "befitting renunciation," discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (4.22): to make use of everything fit, for Him. The phrase bhāsate sva-sva-tejasā, "shines by His own light," is worth noting as the opposite of the usual description of the world.
The world shines by another's light: the moon by the sun's, things by reflection. He shines by His own; and in this lies the whole difference between the source and what is manifested. Let us add that the Gītā says the same, listing what is not needed there: "neither sun nor moon nor fire illumines that; having reached which one does not return — that is My supreme abode" (15.6).