उपनिषद् · Mahā 4.132
॥
देवनागरी
अहो नु चित्रं पद्मोत्थैर्बद्धास्तन्तुभिरद्रयः अविद्यमान या विद्या तया विश्वं खिलीकृतम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
aho nu citraṃ padmotthairbaddhāstantubhiradrayaḥ avidyamāna yā vidyā tayā viśvaṃ khilīkṛtam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
अहो नु चित्रम् पद्म-उत्थैःaho nu citram padma-utthaiḥoh, what a wonder: with lotus-grown; ah, here is a marvel: with fibres sprung from the lotus
बद्धाः तन्तुभिः अद्रयःbaddhāḥ tantubhiḥ adrayaḥthreads the mountains are bound; filaments the mountains are tied
अविद्यमाना या विद्याavidyamānā yā vidyāthe knowledge which does not exist; the non-existent knowing, which
तया विश्वम् खिली-कृतम्tayā viśvam khilī-kṛtamby it the universe is turned to waste; by it the cosmos is made a fallow field
अनुवाद
“Oh, what a wonder: the mountains are bound with lotus fibres! By a knowledge that does not exist the universe has been turned to waste.”
संस्करण
afd8b2addb4f · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 6:29:20 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The second wonder, and its image is superb.
The lotus fibre is the finest thread imaginable; in Sanskrit poetry it is the very pattern of weakness. And with it the mountains are bound.
This is about us. What holds us is neither chain nor fate, but something that tears at a touch — the habit of supposing.
The phrase avidyamānā vidyā — “a knowledge that does not exist” — is built on an oxymoron. Vidyā means “knowledge”, but here it stands for avidyā, ignorance; and it is said that it does not exist at all (cf. 4.111).
And by this non-existent thing the universe is khilī-kṛtam — “turned to waste, to fallow”. The word khila means “waste ground, untilled land”.
That is, the world is neither destroyed nor taken away; it simply lies waste — like a field that exists, but bears no grain.
Note that in both wonders the culprit is not force but littleness: a fibre and forgetfulness.