उपनिषद् · Śvetāśvatara 4.20
॥
देवनागरी
न संदृशे तिष्ठति रूपम् अस्य न चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनं ।
हृदा हृदिस्थं मनसा य एनम् एवं विदुर् अमृतास् ते भवन्ति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
na saṃdṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainaṃ /
hṛdā hṛdisthaṃ manasā ya enam evaṃ vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
न संदृशे तिष्ठतिna saṃdṛśe tiṣṭhatiit does not stand within sight; it does not come before the gaze
रूपम् अस्यrūpam asyaHis form; His shape
न चक्षुषाna cakṣuṣānot by the eye; not by means of the eye
पश्यति कश्चन एनम्paśyati kaścana enamdoes anyone see Him; no one beholds Him
हृदाhṛdāby the heart; through the heart
हृदिस्थम्hṛdisthamstanding in the heart; dwelling within the heart
मनसाmanasāby the mind; by means of the mind
ये एनम् एवम् विदुःye enam evam viduḥthey who know Him thus; those who know Him so
अमृताः ते भवन्तिamṛtāḥ te bhavantibecome immortal; are made imperishable
अनुवाद
His form does not stand within sight; no one sees Him with the eye. By the heart and the mind they know Him who dwells in the heart: and they who know Him so become immortal.
संस्करण
5cd033d39592 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:13:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The mantra says why He is not seen, and says it without evasion: "His form does not stand within sight". Note that the word rūpam, "form", is not denied — what is denied is that this form can be set before the eyes like a thing among things.
The reason is named: "no one sees Him with the eye". The eye is built for matter; the spiritual is not given to it, not through any poverty in the object but through the make of the instrument. The Kaṭha said the same: "outward the Self-existent pierced the openings — therefore men look outward".
And at once the organ to which it is given is named: the heart and the mind. And He is defined as hṛdi-stha, "standing in the heart": He is seen in the very place where He is. One need not shift one's gaze to distant heavens — one must change the organ of sight.
This passage is one of the chief ones in the later theology of vision. From it is drawn the conclusion that God is invisible to the senses and visible to love; that it is not an "inner sense" that replaces the eyes, but the eyes themselves, steeped in bhāva, that become capable. The sixth adhyāya will complete the thought, saying that He is "grasped by feeling".
And again the refrain about immortality — for the fourth time, and again after words about the heart.