Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.152
॥
Devanāgarī
अथेत्थंभूततन्मात्रवेष्टितं तनुतां जहत् वपुर्वह्निकणाकारं स्फुरितं व्योम्नि पश्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
athetthaṃbhūtatanmātraveṣṭitaṃ tanutāṃ jahat vapurvahnikaṇākāraṃ sphuritaṃ vyomni paśyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अथ इत्थम्-भूत-तन्मात्रatha ittham-bhūta-tanmātrathen, by such subtle elements; afterwards, by the said first-elements
वेष्टितम् तनुताम् जहत्veṣṭitam tanutām jahatenwrapped, leaving subtlety behind; enwound, forsaking its fineness
वपुः वह्नि-कण-आकारम्vapuḥ vahni-kaṇa-ākārama body shaped like a spark of fire; a frame in the likeness of a fiery spark
स्फुरितम् व्योम्नि पश्यतिsphuritam vyomni paśyatiflickering, it beholds in the expanse; shimmering, it perceives in the heavens
Traducción
“Then, enwrapped in such subtle elements and leaving its subtlety, it beholds in the expanse a flickering body shaped like a spark of fire.”
Versión
54eea505c31c · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The first appearance of a body, and its look is a spark.
Vahni-kaṇa-ākāra — “shaped like a grain of fire”. Not flesh, not a cloud: a spark.
Note the verb paśyati — “it beholds”. It does not become the body; it sees the body in the expanse, as one sees something before one.
A fine detail: even at this step there is still a gap between consciousness and its body.
Tanutāṃ jahat — “leaving subtlety”. The word tanu means both “subtle” and “body”. The play is that, losing subtlety, it acquires a body.
The whole unfolding, then, is a loss of subtlety.
Recall 5.29: the third stage of knowledge is tanu-mānasī, “the thinning of the mind”. The way back is to grow subtle.