Upaniṣads · Śvetāśvatara 6.3
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् कर्म कृत्वा विनिवर्त्य भूयस् तत्त्वस्य तत्त्वेन समेत्य योगम् ।
एकेन द्वाभ्यां त्रिभिर् अष्टभिर् वा कालेन चैवात्मगुणैश् च सूक्ष्मैः
Transliteración (IAST)
tat karma kṛtvā vinivartya bhūyas tattvasya tattvena sametya yogam /
ekena dvābhyāṃ tribhir aṣṭabhir vā kālena caivātmaguṇaiś ca sūkṣmaiḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तत् कर्म कृत्वाtat karma kṛtvāhaving done that work; having performed this act
विनिवर्त्य भूयःvinivartya bhūyaḥand folded it up again; then drawing it back
तत्त्वस्य तत्त्वेनtattvasya tattvenaessence with essence; principle with principle
समेत्यsametyabringing together; joining
योगम्yogamthe union; the connection
एकेनekenaby one; by means of one
द्वाभ्याम्dvābhyāmby two; by means of two
त्रिभिःtribhiḥby three; by means of three
अष्टभिः वाaṣṭabhiḥ vāor by eight; or else by eight
कालेन च एवkālena ca evaand by time; as well as by time
आत्मगुणैः च सूक्ष्मैःātmaguṇaiḥ ca sūkṣmaiḥand by the subtle qualities of the soul; and by the unseen properties of the ātman
Traducción
Having done that work and folded it up again, bringing essence together with essence — by one, two, three or eight principles, and by time and the subtle qualities of the soul...
Versión
147737b64e40 · publicado 28 jul 2026, 14:13:46 UTC
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The mantra describes the Creator's work in a craftsman's language: He makes and folds up again, joining "essence with essence", tattvasya tattvena.
The enumeration "by one, two, three or eight" is interpreted variously, and all interpretations agree that the reference is to sets of principles from which the world is composed. One is nature itself; two, nature and the soul; three, the three guṇas or the three eternal principles of 1.9; eight, the eightfold prakṛti of Sāṅkhya: the five elements, mind, intellect and I-sense.
The point of this list is not arithmetic but the Builder's freedom: He is not bound to one scheme. However many principles philosophy may count up, He takes as many as are needed — and adds to them "time and the subtle qualities of the soul".
That addition is significant. The world is built not only of matter and time but of the cast of the souls themselves: of their unseen inclinations accumulated before. The world, then, is not handed to us ready-made from outside — we too are part of its composition.
The mantra breaks off in mid-phrase; the next two continue it as one long sentence, which comes to an end only at 6.6 with the word "having known".