उपनिषद् · Mahā 5.142
॥
देवनागरी
केचिद्विशालाः कुकुभः केचिन्नद्यो महारयाः विहायस्युच्चकैः केचिन्निपतन्त्युत्पतन्ति च
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
kecidviśālāḥ kukubhaḥ kecinnadyo mahārayāḥ vihāyasyuccakaiḥ kecinnipatantyutpatanti ca
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
केचित् विशालाः कुकुभःkecit viśālāḥ kukubhaḥsome — the wide quarters of the sky; certain ones are the spacious regions of the sky
केचित् नद्यः महा-रयाःkecit nadyaḥ mahā-rayāḥsome — rivers of mighty current; certain ones are rivers of great rushing
विहायसि उच्चकैः केचित्vihāyasi uccakaiḥ kecitsome, high in the mid-air; certain ones, aloft in the heavens
निपतन्ति उत्पतन्ति चnipatanti utpatanti cafall down and fly up; plunge down and soar up
अनुवाद
“…some are the wide quarters of the sky, some rivers of mighty current; some, high in the mid-air, fall and fly up…”
संस्करण
e9678c088979 · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 6:29:20 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The quarters of the sky and the rivers, and at last — the movement up and down.
Note the last line: nipatanti utpatanti ca — “they fall and fly up”.
These are no longer classes of beings but their lot. Some rise, others tumble; and they do it without pause, in the mid-air.
The image prepares the next verse's comparison — with a ball in the hand.
Kukubh is a rare word for “quarter of the sky”. The quarters are called viśālāḥ, “wide”, and included in the catalogue as beings.
This agrees with 3.49, where it is said that even the quarters are not constant.
Everything we take for the world's frame is also someone.