उपनिषद् · Śvetāśvatara 5.12
॥
देवनागरी
स्थूलानि सूक्ष्माणि बहूनि चैव रूपाणि देही स्वगुणैर् वृणोति ।
क्रियागुणैर् आत्मगुणैश् च तेषां संयोगहेतुर् अपरो ऽपि दृष्टः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sthūlāni sūkṣmāṇi bahūni caiva rūpāṇi dehī svaguṇair vṛṇoti /
kriyāguṇair ātmaguṇaiś ca teṣāṃ saṃyogahetur aparo 'pi dṛṣṭaḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
स्थूलानिsthūlānigross; dense
सूक्ष्माणिsūkṣmāṇisubtle; fine
बहूनि च एवbahūni ca evaand many; and moreover numerous
रूपाणिrūpāṇiforms; shapes
देहीdehīthe embodied one; the wearer of a body
स्वगुणैःsvaguṇaiḥby his own qualities; by his own properties
वृणोतिvṛṇotichooses; selects for himself
क्रियागुणैःkriyāguṇaiḥby the qualities of his deeds; by the properties of his acts
आत्मगुणैः चātmaguṇaiḥ caand by the qualities of himself; and by his own inner qualities
तेषाम्teṣāmof them; of those forms
संयोगहेतुःsaṃyogahetuḥthe cause of the joining; that which brings one together with the other
अपरः अपिaparaḥ apianother as well; yet another besides
दृष्टःdṛṣṭaḥis seen; is discerned
अनुवाद
Gross and subtle and many forms the embodied one chooses by his own qualities — by the qualities of his deeds and of himself. But Another too is seen — the cause of their joining.
संस्करण
64d3fe56af0d · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:13:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The first half grants the soul everything that is its own: it "chooses" its forms itself — by the qualities of its deeds and by its inner cast. No one forces upon it either a gross body or a subtle one; as a man is, so is his next garment.
But the second half adds what without which this picture would be mere mechanics: aparaḥ api dṛṣṭaḥ — "Another too is seen", and He is called saṁyoga-hetu, "the cause of the joining".
Here is the chief move of thought. My deeds are mine; my cast is mine; but the bringing together of soul, body and circumstance is done by Him. Karma is an account, not a cashier: by itself it can neither keep a debt for years nor bring the debtor together with the due body at the due hour.
This passage is one of those on which Vedānta builds the teaching of God as the giver of fruits. A dead action does not pay; the payer is the Living, All-knowing, All-powerful One, who both remembers and can. And the word chosen in the mantra is a gentle one: not "compels" but "joins".
Hence too the consolation: since it is He who joins, He can also disjoin. The next mantra will say so outright, where "one is freed from all bonds" sounds again.