Upaniṣads · Muṇḍaka 3.1.8
॥
Devanāgarī
न चक्षुषा गृह्यते न अपि वाचा न अन्यैः देवैः तपसा कर्मणा वा ।
ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्वः ततः तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं ध्यायमानः ॥
Transliteración (IAST)
na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate na api vācā na anyaiḥ devaiḥ tapasā karmaṇā vā |
jñānaprasādena viśuddhasattvaḥ tataḥ tu taṃ paśyate niṣkalaṃ dhyāyamānaḥ ||
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
नnanot; no
चक्षुषाcakṣuṣāwith the eye; with sight
गृह्यतेgṛhyateis grasped (from √grah); is seized; is caught hold of
न अपिna apiand not; and not
वाचाvācāwith speech; with the word
नnanot; no
अन्यैः देवैःanyaiḥ devaiḥby the other senses (deva — here: the 'shining' organs); by the other god-senses; by the other indriyas
तपसाtapasāby asceticism; by tapas
कर्मणा वाkarmaṇā vāor by action; or by ritual karma
ज्ञानप्रसादेनjñānaprasādenaby the clarity of knowledge (jñāna-prasāda — 'the transparency/grace of knowledge'); by the gracious lucidity of cognition; by the illumination of knowledge
विशुद्धसत्त्वःviśuddhasattvaḥwhose essence is purified (viśuddha-sattva); of wholly pure nature; cleansed in his very texture
ततः तुtataḥ tuthen indeed; after this
तम्tamHis; that one
पश्यतेpaśyatesees; beholds
निष्कलम्niṣkalamthe indivisible (niṣ-kala); the whole; without parts
ध्यायमानःdhyāyamānaḥcontemplating (from √dhyai); in contemplation; meditating
Traducción
He is not to be grasped by the eye, nor by speech, nor by the other senses, nor by austerity, nor by rite. But he whose being is purified by the clarity of knowledge — he, contemplating, sees Him, the indivisible.
Versión
734055c4a04c · publicado 26 jul 2026, 20:10:40 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
A last inventory of unfit instruments — and the naming of the fit one. na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate nāpi vācā — "not grasped by the eye, nor by speech"; nānyair devaiḥ — "nor by the other gods", that is, the senses (the indriyas are called devāḥ, "the shining ones", after their divine patrons); tapasā karmaṇā vā — "nor by austerity, nor by rite": even sacred efforts do not of themselves "seize" Him: He is nobody's quarry.
jñāna-prasādena viśuddha-sattvaḥ — "purified in his being by the clarity of knowledge": the word prasāda has a double light: "clarity, transparency" — and "grace": knowledge settled until it is transparent is itself a form of grace; viśuddha-sattva is one whose inner fabric has been washed clean into light. tatas tu taṁ paśyate niṣkalaṁ dhyāyamānaḥ — "then, contemplating, he sees Him, the indivisible": dhyāyamānaḥ — in a contemplation that lasts: vision comes not in the instant of effort but into the quiet of purity.
The conclusion is plain and severe: God is not taken — one is opened to. All the instruments of seizing (eye, word, austerity, rite) are good for one thing only: to cleanse the seizer; and when the cleansing is finished it turns out there was nothing to seize: clear glass need not catch the light.