Upaniṣads · Aitareya 1,1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
आत्मा वा इदम् एकः एव अग्र आसीत् न अन्यत् किञ्चन मिषत् सः ईक्षत लोकान् नु सृजा इति
Transliteración (IAST)
ātmā vā idam ekaḥ eva agra āsīt na anyat kiñcana miṣat saḥ īkṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the Self
वाvāindeed; verily
इदम्idamthis; all this
एकःekaḥone (eka); alone; one without a second
एवevaprecisely; only
अग्रagrain the beginning (agre); at the outset; before all else
आसीत्āsītwas; existed
नnanot; no
अन्यत्anyatother; anything else
किञ्चनkiñcanaanything; even the least thing
मिषत्miṣatblinked (from √miṣ — 'to blink'); winked; closed its eyelids
सःsaḥHe; that one
ईक्षतīkṣatabeheld (from √īkṣ — 'to see, to consider'); thought with open eyes; looked-and-resolved
लोकान्lokānthe worlds; the realms
नुnunow; then
सृजाsṛjālet Me create (from √sṛj); let Me make; let Me bring forth
इतिitithus; so saying
Traducción
In the beginning, verily, all this was the Ātman alone; nothing else blinked. He beheld: "Let Me now create the worlds!"
Versión
69ef384e0997 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 19:36:16 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The Aitareya begins at the very beginning — before the beginning. ātmā vā idam eka evāgra āsīt — "the Ātman, verily, was this — alone, in the beginning": not chaos, not matter, not a void, but Spirit, and one: na anyat kiñcana miṣat — "nothing else blinked": an astonishing criterion of existence — there was not a single blinking thing, not one living gaze except His; the world before creation is He and His unblinking eye.
sa īkṣata — "He beheld": creation begins with a look-and-a-thought (√īkṣ — "to see, to consider"): not an explosion, not an emanation, but an act of seeing will. The Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.5) builds a whole proof on this verb: īkṣater nāśabdam — "because [scripture says] 'He beheld', [the first cause] is not the wordless [matter]": a blind beginning does not look and does not decide; the Creator of the Aitareya is a Person, and His first deed is a thought: lokān nu sṛjā iti — "let Me now create the worlds!"
Note that nu — "now then, come": in the first word of creation one hears a free readiness, almost a gaiety of decision: the worlds are born not of necessity but of good pleasure (the Taittirīya: "He desired: let Me become many"). The whole Upaniṣad will unfold that first look: how the Beholder built the worlds, moulded man, entered into him — and in man recognised Himself.