Upaniṣads · Śvetāśvatara 5.2
॥
Devanāgarī
यो योनिं योनिम् अधितिष्ठत्य् एको विश्वानि रूपाणि योनीश् च सर्वाः ।
ऋषिं प्रसूतं कपिलं यस् तम् अग्रे ज्ञानैर् बिभर्ति जायमानं च पश्येत्
Transliteración (IAST)
yo yoniṃ yonim adhitiṣṭhaty eko viśvāni rūpāṇi yonīś ca sarvāḥ /
ṛṣiṃ prasūtaṃ kapilaṃ yas tam agre jñānair bibharti jāyamānaṃ ca paśyet
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
यः योनिम् योनिम्yaḥ yonim yonimwho over every womb; He who over each source
अधितिष्ठतिadhitiṣṭhatipresides; stands as ruler
एकःekaḥalone; He the only one
विश्वानि रूपाणिviśvāni rūpāṇiall the forms; every shape
योनीः च सर्वाःyonīḥ ca sarvāḥand all the wombs; and all the sources
ऋषिम्ṛṣimthe seer; the ṛṣi
प्रसूतम्prasūtambrought forth; produced into the world
कपिलम्kapilamKapila; the tawny one — that is, the firstborn
यः तम् अग्रेyaḥ tam agrewho him at the beginning; He who at the first
ज्ञानैःjñānaiḥwith kinds of knowledge; with knowing
बिभर्तिbibhartinourishes; holds and fills
जायमानम् च पश्येत्jāyamānam ca paśyetand sees him being born; and looks upon his birth
Traducción
He who alone presides over every womb, over all forms and all wombs; who at the beginning fills with knowledge the seer Kapila, brought forth, and sees his birth...
Versión
28b6acb23128 · publicado 28 jul 2026, 14:13:46 UTC
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The mantra is difficult and famous because of one word: kapila. It is read two ways, and both sides have support.
The first reading takes it as a proper name: Kapila, the legendary sage whom tradition calls the founder of Sāṅkhya. Then what is said is that he too, for all his wisdom, was born and filled with knowledge from above. For an Upaniṣad that uses the language of Sāṅkhya while subordinating everything to the Lord, this is an apt qualification: Sāṅkhya itself is given by God and is not self-standing.
The second reading takes it as a common adjective: kapila means "tawny, golden", and then the reference is to the firstborn Hiraṇyagarbha, the "Golden Germ" already spoken of at 3.4 and 4.12. So Śaṅkara reads it.
Remarkably, both readings lead to the one conclusion for whose sake the mantra was written: even he who is for us the source of knowledge — be it the first sage or the first being — himself received both knowledge and existence. He is "born", and the Lord "sees his birth".
The first half repeats 4.11: He presides "over every womb". The doctrine of the womb as first cause from 1.2 the Upaniṣad rejects not by argument but by this repetition: however many sources there may be, all are under rule.
Note too the verb bibharti: "nourishes, upholds". Knowledge is not merely given once — it is sustained.