Upanishads · Varāha 3.20
॥
Devanāgarī
जलस्य चलनादेव चञ्चलत्वं यथा रवेः । तथाहङ्कारसम्बधादेव संसार आत्मनः
Transliteration (IAST)
jalasya calanādeva cañcalatvaṃ yathā raveḥ | tathāhaṅkārasambadhādeva saṃsāra ātmanaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जलस्य चलनात् एवjalasya calanāt evafrom the motion of water alone
चञ्चलत्वं यथा रवेःcañcalatvaṃ yathā raveḥrestlessness, as of the sun
तथा अहङ्कार-सम्बन्धात् एवtathā ahaṅkāra-sambandhāt evaso, from connection with ego-making alone
संसारः आत्मनःsaṃsāraḥ ātmanaḥthe cycle of the self
Translation
"As restlessness of the sun [is seen] from the motion of water alone, so the cycle of the self [is] from connection with ego-making alone."
Version
fab801969aeb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with a reflection in water is given, and it is, in my view, the best of all comparisons in this class; it deserves examination. The sun reflects in a bucket; the water is shaken — the reflection trembles. And it seems the sun trembles.
But the sun stands still; it is the water that trembles. This comparison is more precise than the rope and the serpent for two reasons, and both deserve naming. First: the reflection truly exists. It is no invention: it can be seen, measured, captured on paper. The trembling too truly exists; it belongs to the water.
Second: the sun remains untouched by this, and yet the reflection is its reflection, and no one else's. That is, the comparison explains at once two circumstances otherwise irreconcilable: suffering is real, and the self does not suffer. The Vaishnava side gladly holds this comparison and calls the reflection pratibimba; and of the dispute between two schools — whether the soul is a reflection or a part — it is worth speaking briefly.
Some say: the soul is a reflection of brahman in matter, and with the disappearance of matter the reflection disappears. It says: the soul is amsha, "a part," not a reflection; and of the word sanatana, "eternal," beside the word amsha, discussed when reading verse eight. The difference here is decisive: a reflection vanishes together with the mirror, while a part remains.