Upaniṣads · Mahā 4.13
॥
Devanāgarī
अतश्चात्मनि कर्तृत्वमकर्तृत्वं च वै मुने निरिच्छत्वादकर्तासौ कर्ता संनिधिमात्रतः
Transliteración (IAST)
ataścātmani kartṛtvamakartṛtvaṃ ca vai mune niricchatvādakartāsau kartā saṃnidhimātrataḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अतः च आत्मनि कर्तृत्वम्ataḥ ca ātmani kartṛtvamhence in the Ātman both doership; therefore in the Ātman there is agency
अकर्तृत्वम् च वै मुनेakartṛtvam ca vai muneand non-doership indeed, O sage; and non-agency too, O silent one
निरिच्छत्वात् अकर्ता असौniricchatvāt akartā asaufrom desirelessness he is no doer; by the absence of wishes he does not act
कर्ता संनिधि-मात्रतःkartā saṃnidhi-mātrataḥa doer by mere presence; an agent solely through his nearness
Traducción
“Hence in the Ātman there is both doership and non-doership: by his desirelessness He is no doer, and a doer He is by His mere presence.”
Versión
f09276217487 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The resolution of the contradiction, and it rests on one word: saṃnidhi — “presence, nearness”.
He is not a doer — because He does not desire; every act of ours begins with wanting, and He has no wanting in our sense.
He is a doer — because in His presence everything gets done.
An everyday example: the sun does no work, yet by it everything on earth grows, evaporates, moves and blossoms. To ask how much the sun has toiled is to miss what is being said.
The term saṃnidhi-mātra, “by mere presence”, is constant in Vedānta, and by it is explained why the Supreme does not answer for our sins, though without Him we could not lift a finger.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta accepts this and adds what is not yet here: presence belongs to a Person. The gem of the previous verse lies without will, but He of whom the speech is has a will — only it is unlike our need.