Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.180
॥
Devanāgarī
भावयन्ति चितिश्चैत्यं व्यतिरिक्तमिवात्मनः संकल्पतामिवायाति बीजमङ्कुरतामिव
Transliteración (IAST)
bhāvayanti citiścaityaṃ vyatiriktamivātmanaḥ saṃkalpatāmivāyāti bījamaṅkuratāmiva
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
भावयन्ति चितिः चैत्यम्bhāvayanti citiḥ caityamconsciousness contemplates the cognizable; awareness nurtures the object of awareness
व्यतिरिक्तम् इव आत्मनःvyatiriktam iva ātmanaḥas if distinct from itself; as though separate from its own self
सङ्कल्पताम् इव आयातिsaṅkalpatām iva āyātiit comes as it were to design; it arrives, so to speak, at intent
बीजम् अङ्कुरताम् इवbījam aṅkuratām ivaas a seed to sprouthood; just as a seed to the state of a shoot
Traducción
“Consciousness contemplates the cognizable as if distinct from itself, and comes as it were to design — as a seed comes to the sprout.”
Versión
080b90e486f0 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse repeats 5.178 and adds the deciding word: iva — “as if”.
The cognizable is contemplated vyatiriktam iva — “as if distinct”.
Not distinct, but “as if”.
Note that from this “as if” everything proceeded. Not from an actual division, but from a seeming one.
And this is what makes the return possible. What must be undone is not a fact but an appearance.
The second iva — with the seed and the sprout: saṅkalpatām iva āyāti. Even the passage to design is called “as it were”.
The book stays true to itself to the end: nothing really happened (5.165).
And still, here we are.