Upaniṣads · Jābāladarśana 9.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तथा स्थूलमनाकाशमसंस्पृश्यमचाक्षुषम् । न रसं न च गन्धाख्यमप्रमेयमनूपमम्
Transliteración (IAST)
tathā sthūlamanākāśamasaṃspṛśyamacākṣuṣam | na rasaṃ na ca gandhākhyamaprameyamanūpamam
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तथा स्थूलम् अन्-आकाशम्tathā sthūlam an-ākāśamand likewise dense, non-space
अ-संस्पृश्यम् अ-चाक्षुषम्a-saṃspṛśyam a-cākṣuṣamuntouchable, invisible
न रसं न च गन्ध-आख्यम्na rasaṃ na ca gandha-ākhyamneither taste nor what is called smell
अ-प्रमेयम् अन्-उपमम्a-prameyam an-upamamimmeasurable, incomparable
Traducción
"…and likewise dense, non-space, untouchable, invisible, neither taste nor what is called smell, immeasurable, incomparable…"
Versión
79f711dfba50 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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A list of negations, and it is a favorite in the Upanishads: not touchable, not visible, without taste and smell. This description directly echoes the Katha: "soundless, untouchable, formless, undiminishing, and also tasteless, eternal, odorless" (1.3.15). It is worth examining what such lists actually do, for they are usually misunderstood.
What is listed are the five objects of the five senses: sound, touch, form, taste, smell. And of each it is said "not this." That is, what is denied is not the presence of properties in general, but detectability by the senses. It is said: this will not be seen, heard, or smelled.
The conclusion "so He has no form" does not follow from this, and the Vaishnava side points this out constantly. From the fact that something is not detected by our instruments, it follows only that the instruments are unfit. It finds confirmation in these very books. The Mundaka, having listed that He is "unseen, ungraspable," adds: "and Him, the subtlest of the subtle, the wise see by contemplation" (3.1.7); that is, invisibility pertains to the eye, not to the object itself.
Let us add the word standing first in this line: sthulam, "dense." Its neighboring with the negations is curious. It was just said that He is untouchable and invisible; and right here — that He is dense. The Brihadaranyaka joins this in a famous phrase: asthulo'nanuh, "neither dense nor subtle" (3.8.8); here one is added without the other, apparently by oversight.