उपनिषद् · Śvetāśvatara 6.15
॥
देवनागरी
एको हंसो भुवनस्यास्य मध्ये स एवाग्निः सलिले संनिविष्टः ।
तम् एव विदित्वाति मृत्युम् एति नान्यः पन्था विद्यते ऽयनाय
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
eko haṃso bhuvanasyāsya madhye sa evāgniḥ salile saṃniviṣṭaḥ /
tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti nānyaḥ panthā vidyate 'yanāya
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
एकः हंसःekaḥ haṃsaḥone swan; the single swan
भुवनस्य अस्य मध्येbhuvanasya asya madhyein the midst of this world; in the middle of the universe
सः एव अग्निःsaḥ eva agniḥHe indeed is the fire; precisely He is the flame
सलिलेsalilein the water; within the waters
संनिविष्टःsaṃniviṣṭaḥentered; firmly lodged
तम् एव विदित्वाtam eva viditvāknowing Him alone; only on recognising Him
अति मृत्युम् एतिati mṛtyum etione passes beyond death; one crosses past death
न अन्यः पन्थाःna anyaḥ panthāḥthere is no other path; no other road exists
विद्यतेvidyateis found; is to be had
अयनायayanāyafor the passage; for going through
अनुवाद
One swan in the midst of this world; He is the fire that has entered the water. Knowing Him alone one passes beyond death; there is no other path for the passage.
संस्करण
e745c228b816 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:13:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The swan, haṁsa, is here no longer the soul, as at 1.6 and 3.18, but the Lord Himself. The Upaniṣad uses one word for both deliberately: he who circles in the wheel and He who is above the wheel are of one nature, as was just said at 6.13.
"Fire that has entered water" is an ancient and enigmatic image. In it one hears the submarine flame of the legends, and the lightning in the cloud, and that fire of digestion which burns in a body made largely of moisture. The common sense is a presence of incompatibles: a fire the water does not quench.
This is the image of His dwelling in the world: He is inside the element that ought to have put Him out — and He is not put out. The same was said at 1.13, where fire lies hidden in wood and is unseen until it is drawn out.
The second half repeats 3.8 word for word: "knowing Him alone one passes beyond death; there is no other path". The repetition is placed here, in the book's next-to-last section, as a final confirmation: over three adhyāyas nothing has changed, the conclusion is the same.
And note: it says "knowing Him", not "knowing the truth" or "knowing oneself". The path is one, and it leads not to a state but to a Face.