Upanishads · Varāha 5.2
॥
Devanāgarī
दीपनं च भवेत्तेजः प्रचारो वायुलक्षणम् । आकाशः सत्त्वतः सर्वं ज्ञातव्यं योगमिच्छता
Transliteration (IAST)
dīpanaṃ ca bhavettejaḥ pracāro vāyulakṣaṇam | ākāśaḥ sattvataḥ sarvaṃ jñātavyaṃ yogamicchatā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दीपनं च भवेत् तेजःdīpanaṃ ca bhavet tejaḥluminescence, that is fire
प्रचारः वायु-लक्षणम्pracāraḥ vāyu-lakṣaṇammovement, the mark of wind
आकाशः सत्त्वतः सर्वंākāśaḥ sattvataḥ sarvaṃspace, by capacity; all this
ज्ञातव्यं योगम् इच्छताjñātavyaṃ yogam icchatāmust be known by one desiring yoga
Translation
"Luminescence — that is fire; movement — the mark of wind; space — [that which contains]. All this must be known by one desiring yoga."
Version
0d168e23810c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The inventory of elements is complete, and worth noting is that it is built by a single rule: every element is named by its action, not by its substance. Luminescence, movement, containment, fluidity, hardness — five actions. This construction is fundamental in Sankhya and tied to the teaching of the five tanmatras, "subtle essences": sound, touch, form, taste, smell.
Let us add what deserves saying of the word jnatavyam, "must be known" itself. It says: one desiring yoga must know this; that is, knowledge is bound up with the craft, and working with the body begins with understanding its composition. This requirement is sensible, and Vaishnava practice has it too, though the subject differs.
It too requires knowledge before deeds, but knowledge of another kind: not the body's composition, but sambandha, "relation" — who I am, who He is, what is between us. Its order was cited when reading the Gopala-tapani and is stated in three words: sambandha (relation), abhidheya (means), prayojana (goal). That is, one first learns whom one deals with, then what to do, and only then for what purpose.
Let us add what it notes of bodily inventories. The body, in its books, is described rarely and without detail — not because it is despicable, but because it is not the object of the occupation; and all the attention this chapter gives to elements and passages, it gives to hearing and the tongue.