उपनिषद् · Mahā 5.139
॥
देवनागरी
केचिदर्केन्दुवरुणास्त्र्यक्षाधोक्षजपद्मजाः केचिद्ब्रह्मणभूपालवैश्यशूद्रगणाः स्थिताः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
kecidarkenduvaruṇāstryakṣādhokṣajapadmajāḥ kecidbrahmaṇabhūpālavaiśyaśūdragaṇāḥ sthitāḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
केचित् अर्क-इन्दु-वरुणाःkecit arka-indu-varuṇāḥsome — the sun, the moon, Varuṇa; certain ones are the sun, the moon, Varuṇa
त्रि-अक्ष-अधोक्षज-पद्म-जाःtri-akṣa-adhokṣaja-padma-jāḥthe Three-eyed, Adhokṣaja, the Lotus-born; the Three-eyed one, Adhokṣaja, he who was born of the lotus
केचित् ब्राह्मण-भूपालkecit brāhmaṇa-bhūpālasome — brāhmaṇas, kings; certain ones are brāhmaṇas and rulers of earth
वैश्य-शूद्र-गणाः स्थिताःvaiśya-śūdra-gaṇāḥ sthitāḥhosts of vaiśyas and śūdras abide; throngs of vaiśyas and śūdras are set there
अनुवाद
“…some are the sun, the moon, Varuṇa, the Three-eyed, Adhokṣaja, the Lotus-born; some are hosts of brāhmaṇas, kings, vaiśyas and śūdras…”
संस्करण
3e74127abb51 · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 6:29:20 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The verse sets gods and men of all estates side by side, and this deserves note.
Adhokṣaja is a name of Viṣṇu meaning “he who is beyond sense perception”. Padma-ja — “born of the lotus”, Brahmā. Tri-akṣa — “three-eyed”, Śiva.
All three in one catalogue with brāhmaṇas, kings, vaiśyas and śūdras.
Here the same proviso is needed as in 3.51–3.52, where Hari is called transient. The speech is of offices: of him who in a given kalpa occupies Brahmā's seat or bears the sun's service.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta will not agree that Viṣṇu is such an office; and in any case it is clear the catalogue is not of the Supreme, for the Supreme himself distributes the forms (5.136).
Note also this: the four estates are named simply as classes of births, without any valuation.