उपनिषद् · Śvetāśvatara 6.18
॥
देवनागरी
यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्वं यो वै वेदांश् च प्रहिणोति तस्मै ।
तं ह देवम् आत्मबुद्धिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर् वै शरणम् अहं प्रपद्ये
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
yo brahmāṇaṃ vidadhāti pūrvaṃ yo vai vedāṃś ca prahiṇoti tasmai /
taṃ ha devam ātmabuddhiprakāśaṃ mumukṣur vai śaraṇam ahaṃ prapadye
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
यः ब्रह्माणम्yaḥ brahmāṇamwho Brahmā; He who the creator Brahmā
विदधातिvidadhātifashions; sets up
पूर्वम्pūrvamin the beginning; before all else
यः वै वेदान्yaḥ vai vedānwho indeed the Vedas; He who the holy Vedas
च प्रहिणोति तस्मैca prahiṇoti tasmaiand sends forth to him; and delivers to him
तम् ह देवम्tam ha devamto that God; to that very Deity
आत्मबुद्धिप्रकाशम्ātmabuddhiprakāśamwho illumines the soul's own understanding; who gives light to one's own discernment
मुमुक्षुः वैmumukṣuḥ vailonging for liberation; seeking freedom
शरणम्śaraṇamas to a refuge; seeking shelter
अहम् प्रपद्येaham prapadyeI take refuge; I give myself over
अनुवाद
To that God who in the beginning fashions Brahmā and sends the Vedas to him, who illumines the soul's own understanding — to Him, seeking shelter, I take refuge, longing for liberation.
संस्करण
c09621a80ef5 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:13:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The whole Upaniṣad has so far spoken in the third person: "who", "He", "His". Here the word "I" sounds for the first time — and it sounds in the words of refuge: śaraṇam aham prapadye.
This is the book's turning point. After six adhyāyas of examining causes, describing yoga, defining and denying, what remains is not a conclusion but an act: a man takes refuge.
He is called mumukṣu, "longing for liberation" — and this is the only thing he says about himself. No merits, no knowledge, no feat is named: only the longing.
And to whom does he take refuge? To Him who "fashions Brahmā and sends him the Vedas". The description is chosen deliberately: He who gave knowledge to the creator himself is the only one who can give knowledge to me. The third description says the same: ātma-buddhi-prakāśa, "who illumines the soul's understanding". The light of the mind is from Him; by one's own light He cannot be seen, as was said at 6.14.
This mantra has become one of the supports of all the later teaching of prapatti, self-surrender. The word uttered here will be repeated in countless prayers: I take refuge, seeking shelter. And note that in the Upaniṣad it is placed not at the beginning of the road but at the end, after everything: giving oneself over is not the faint-heartedness of the ignorant but the last step of the knower.