Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.145
॥
Devanāgarī
लीलयैव यदादत्ते दिक्कालकलितं वपुः तदेव जीवपर्यायवासनावेशतः परम्
Transliteración (IAST)
līlayaiva yadādatte dikkālakalitaṃ vapuḥ tadeva jīvaparyāyavāsanāveśataḥ param
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
लीलया एव यदा आदत्तेlīlayā eva yadā ādattewhen in mere play it takes on; when, sporting, it assumes
दिक्-काल-कलितम् वपुःdik-kāla-kalitam vapuḥa body cut to quarters and time; a body tailored by directions and time
तत् एव जीव-पर्यायtat eva jīva-paryāyathat same, by the jīva's turn; the very same, in the soul's succession
वासना-आवेशतः परम्vāsanā-āveśataḥ paramthrough the entry of vāsanās, thereafter; upon the indwelling of inclinations, further
Traducción
“…when in play it takes on a body cut to the measure of the quarters and of time, that same body, becoming the jīva in turn, through the entry of the vāsanās…”
Versión
abf57ec486ed · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse gives the beginning of the descent, and the beginning is named līlayā — “in play”.
This word is among the chief in Vaiṣṇava letters: līlā, “play, sport”. All that the Supreme does is neither labour nor need.
Note that the body is called dik-kāla-kalita — “cut to the measure of the quarters and of time”. A body is not matter but a pattern tailored to the measure of space and time.
And then — vāsanā-āveśataḥ, “through the entry of the vāsanās”.
The word āveśa means “entering, indwelling, possession”. The vāsanās do not grow in the jīva; they move into it.
A two-step picture results: first play, then possession.
The first is from Him; the second is already one's own doing (cf. 5.128: “by its own will it goes into bondage”).