SVU 3.7-3.9: The Sun-Bright Being Beyond Darkness

The supreme Brahman is hidden in every body; beyond darkness, the sun-bright Puruṣa stands like a tree, fills the world and leads beyond death.

Dr. Ronald Steiner

Nils Jacob Liersch 03.02.2021

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.7

ततः परं ब्रह्म परं बृहन्तं यथानिकायं सर्वभूतेषु गूढम् |

tataḥ paraṃ, brahma paraṃ bṛhantaṃ; yathā-nikāyaṃ, sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍham | Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

tatas	tatas adverb	beyond that
param nominative singular neuter	para adjective	the higher, highest
brahma nominative singular	brahman substantive neuter	Brahman
param accusative singular masculine	para adjective	the supreme, transcendent
bṛhantam accusative singular masculine	bṛhat adjective	the great
yathā avyayībhāva-compund	yathā adverb	according to
nikāyam accusative singular	nikāya substantive masculine	body by body, in every body
sarva karmadhāraya-compound	sarva pronoun quant	all
bhūteṣu lokative plural	bhūta substantive neuter	in beings
gūḍham accusative singular masculine past participle passive	guh verbal root	hidden

विश्वस्य एकं परिवेष्टितारमीशं तं ज्ञात्वा अमृता भवन्ति ||7||

viśvasya* ekaṃ, pariveṣṭitāram; īśaṃ taṃ jñātvā, a*mṛtā bhavanti ||7|| Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

viśvasya genitive singular neuter	viśva pronoun quant	of the whole
ekam accusative singular masculine	eka numeral	the one, unique
pariveṣṭitāram accusative singular	pariveṣṭitṛ substantive masculine	the Encompasser
īśam accusative singular	īśa substantive masculine	the Lord
tam accusative singular masculine	tad pronoun dem	him
jñātvā absolutus	jñā verbal root	having known
amṛtāḥ nominative plural masculine	amṛta adjective	immortal
bhavanti 3rd person plural aktive present	bhū verbal root	they become

Metre: Pāda 1: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending; Pāda 2: Triṣṭubh with Śālinī ending — 12 syllables; Pāda 3: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending; Pāda 4: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - historically literal

Higher than this visible world is the supreme, great Brahman. It is hidden in every single body, and as the one Lord it encompasses the whole universe. Whoever knows him becomes immortal.

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - modern transfer

The Bhāṣya attributed to Śaṅkara places the higher Brahman above the world as effect and above Virāj. It is hidden in every body, encompasses the whole from within and is its Lord. Whoever knows it becomes immortal.

Śaṅkara's Bhāṣya on the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

Śaṅkarānanda places unlimited Brahman above Hiraṇyagarbha. It appears differently according to each body, like fire in straight or crooked wood, yet undergoes no real change of form. Knowledge of tat tvam asi ends mortality.

Śaṅkarānanda's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Nārāyaṇa understands yathānikāyam both as the respective body and as a reference to Paramātman himself. Yoga and worship prepare for knowledge of him; the one encompassing Lord is found hidden in every being.

Nārāyaṇa's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Vijñānabhagavat compares hidden Brahman with fire that appears differently shaped according to its fuel, and with the ground of a mirage. It fills every being inside and out. Knowledge of unity removes only the separating Avidyā, not any real distance.

Vijñānabhagavat's Śvetāśvataropaniṣadvivaraṇa

viśvasya* ekaṃ conj. LV1958 (m. c.) ] viśvasyaikaṃ LV1958, ASS1927

Critical Apparatus

Doch höher noch steht Brahman! Den höchsten, großen, Der Leib für Leib versteckt in allen Wesen, Den Einen, der das Weltall hält umschlossen,—Wer den als Gott versteht<1>, der wird unsterblich.
<1: Wer unter dem erwähnten Gotte Rudra den Ātman (das Brahman) versteht.>

Paul Deussen - 1921

Higher than this<1> is Brahma. The Supreme, the Great, Hidden in all things, body by body, The One embracer of the universe—By knowing Him as Lord (īś) men become immortal.
<1: Either “higher than this [Terrible, Vedic god Rudra],” or “higher than this [world].”>

Robert Hume - 1921

(Men) become immortal, having known that God, who is beyond this world, (nay), who is beyond Hiranyagarbha, who is Mighty, hidden in all created things, according to their form, and who is one pervading the universe.

Siddhesvar Varma Shastri - 1916

Paul Deussen - 1897

Those who know beyond this the High Brahman, the vast, hidden in the bodies of all creatures, and alone enveloping everything, as the Lord, they become immortal<1>.
<1: The knowledge consists in knowing either that Brahman is Īsa or that Īsa is Brahman. But in either case the gender of the adjectives is difficult. The Svetāsvatara-upanishad seems to use brihanta as an adjective, instead of brihat. I should prefer to translate: Beyond this is the High Brahman, the vast. Those who know Īsa, the Lord, hidden in all things and embracing all things to be this (Brahman), become immortal. See also Muir, Metrical Translations, p. 196, whose translation of these verses I have adopted with few exceptions.>

F. Max Müller - 1884

Those who know Bramha, who is greater than the universe, the great one, the infinite, who is concealed within all beings according to their bodies, the only pervader of the whole universe, the ruler,—become immortal.

Edward Röer - 1853

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8

वेदाहमेतं पुरुषं महान्तमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् |

vedāham etaṃ, puruṣaṃ mahāntam; āditya-varṇaṃ, tamasaḥ parastāt | Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

veda 1st person singular aktive present	vid verbal root	I know
aham nominative singular	asmad pronoun pers 1p	I
etam accusative singular masculine	etad pronoun dem	this
puruṣam accusative singular	puruṣa substantive masculine	the Puruṣa
mahāntam accusative singular masculine	mahat adjective	the great
āditya upapada-compound	āditya substantive masculine	sun
varṇam accusative singular masculine	varṇa substantive masculine	of sun-like radiance
tamasaḥ genitive singular	tamas substantive neuter	of darkness
parastāt	parastāt adverb	beyond

तमेव विदित्वाति मृत्युमेति नान्यः पन्था विद्यते ऽयनाय ||8||

tam eva viditvā,ti mṛtyum eti; nānyaḥ panthā, vidyate 'yanāya ||8|| Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

tam accusative singular masculine	tad pronoun dem	him
eva	eva particle	alone
viditvā absolutus	vid verbal root	having known
ati	ati previx	beyond
mṛtyum accusative singular	mṛtyu substantive masculine	death
eti 3rd person singular aktive present	i verbal root	he goes beyond
nānyaḥ nominative singular masculine	na particle anya pronoun quant	no other
panthāḥ nominative singular	pathin substantive masculine	way
vidyate 3rd person singular passive present	vid verbal root	is found, exists
ayanāya dative singular	ayana substantive neuter	for going

Metre: Pāda 1: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending; Pāda 2: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending; Pāda 3: Triṣṭubh; Pāda 4: Triṣṭubh — 10 syllables

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - historically literal

I have known this great Puruṣa: he shines like the sun and stands beyond all darkness. Only one who knows him passes beyond death; there is no other path.

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - modern transfer

The Bhāṣya attributed to Śaṅkara presents the verse as the seer's own experience. The sun-like Puruṣa is the inner witnessing consciousness beyond ignorance. Only knowledge of him—not Karma or another path—leads beyond death to the highest goal.

Śaṅkara's Bhāṣya on the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

Śaṅkarānanda understands death as Avidyā with its concealing and projecting power. The seer's emphatic statement excludes not only a second object of knowledge but every other path to liberation: direct knowledge of the Self alone carries one beyond Saṃsāra.

Śaṅkarānanda's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Nārāyaṇa stresses the exclusivity of knowledge of Brahman. Pilgrimages, great gifts and other religious acts can at most prepare indirectly; they do not form an independent path beyond death. Knowledge alone is the immediate cause.

Nārāyaṇa's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Vijñānabhagavat reads the declaration as the seer's knowledge of a Mahāvākya. Death is ignorance itself, which is burnt in perfected knowledge. Neither another object nor an auxiliary means combined with knowledge can bring forth Kaivalya.

Vijñānabhagavat's Śvetāśvataropaniṣadvivaraṇa

tamasaḥ parastāt LV1958, ASS1927 ] tamasas tu pāre LV1958-app

Critical Apparatus

Ich kenne jenen Purusha, den großen, Jenseits der Dunkelheit wie Sonnen leuchtend; Nur wer ihn kennt, entrinnt dem Reich des Todes; Nicht gibt es einen andern Weg zum Gehen.<1>
<1: = Vāj. Saṃh. 31,18 (Gesch. d. Phil. I, 290).>

Paul Deussen - 1921

I know this mighty Person (Purusha) Of the color of the sun, beyond darkness. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path for going there.<1>
<1: This stanza = VS. 31. 18.>

Robert Hume - 1921

I know that perfectly pervading Being, Mighty, Luminous, and beyond darkness. Having known Him alone, (a man) can conquer death; there exists no other path leading to salvation.

Siddhesvar Varma Shastri - 1916

Paul Deussen - 1897

I know that great person (purusha) of sunlike lustre beyond the darkness. A man who knows him truly, passes over death; there is no other path to go.<1><2><3>
<1: Cf. Vāg. Saṃh. XXX, 18; Taitt. Ār. III, 12, 7; III, 13, 1.>
<2: Cf. Bhagavadgītā VIII, 9.>
<3: Cf. Śvet. Up. VI, 15.>

F. Max Müller - 1884

I know that perfect, infinite spirit, who is like the sun after darkness. Thus knowing him, a person overcomes death; there is no other road for obtaining (liberation).<1>
<1: Taken from the Vāj. Saṃh. 31–8. The second distich of this verse returns, 6–15, and the second part of the first distich is literally found in Bhag. G. 8,9.>

Edward Röer - 1853

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.9

यस्मात्परं नापरमस्ति किंचिद्यस्मान्नाणीयो न ज्यायो ऽस्ति किंचित् |

yasmāt paraṃ, nāparam asti kiṃcid; yasmān nāṇīyo, na jyāyo 'sti kiṃcit | Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

yasmāt ablative singular masculine	yad pronoun rel	beyond whom
param nominative singular neuter	para adjective	higher
na	na particle	not
aparam nominative singular neuter	apara adjective	other
asti 3rd person singular aktive present	as verbal root	exists
kiṃcit nominative singular neuter	kiṃcid pronoun inter	anything
yasmāt ablative singular masculine	yad pronoun rel	in comparison with whom
nāṇīyaḥ nominative singular masculine comperative	na particle aṇīyas adjective	nothing smaller
na	na particle	not
jyāyaḥ nominative singular masculine comperative	jyāyas adjective	greater
asti 3rd person singular aktive present	as verbal root	exists
kiṃcit nominative singular neuter	kiṃcid pronoun inter	anything

वृक्ष इव स्तब्धो दिवि तिष्ठत्येकस्तेनेदं पूर्णं पुरुषेण सर्वम् ||9||

vṛkṣa iva stabdho, divi tiṣṭhaty ekas; tenedaṃ pūrṇaṃ, puruṣeṇa sarvam ||9|| Analysis ▾ Analysis ▴

vṛkṣaḥ nominative singular	vṛkṣa substantive masculine	a tree
iva	iva particle	like
stabdhaḥ nominative singular masculine past participle passive	stambh verbal root	motionless
divi lokative singular	div substantive feminine	in heaven
tiṣṭhati 3rd person singular aktive present	sthā verbal root	he stands
ekaḥ nominative singular masculine	eka numeral	the one, unique
tena instrumental case singular masculine	tad pronoun dem	through him
idam nominative singular neuter	idam pronoun dem	this
pūrṇam nominative singular neuter past participle passive	pṝ verbal root	filled
puruṣeṇa instrumental case singular	puruṣa substantive masculine	through the Puruṣa
sarvam nominative singular neuter	sarva pronoun quant	all, the whole

Metre: Pāda 1: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending; Pāda 2: Triṣṭubh; Pāda 3: Jagatī; Pāda 4: Triṣṭubh with Vajrā ending

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - historically literal

Nothing stands above him and nothing differs from him; nothing is smaller and nothing greater than he. Motionless as a tree, the One stands in heaven. This Puruṣa fills the entire world.

Dr. Ronald Steiner - 2026 - modern transfer

The Bhāṣya attributed to Śaṅkara allows nothing to exist above or below the one Puruṣa. Like an immovable tree, he rests in his own light; at the same time he fills the entire world without interruption and without thereby being divided.

Śaṅkara's Bhāṣya on the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

Śaṅkarānanda understands the tree as an image of inner undifferentiatedness and div as the light of consciousness. Because all things receive their existence and appearance only from the Self, nothing is smaller, greater or outside this One.

Śaṅkarānanda's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Nārāyaṇa also reads the steadfast tree cosmically: the One stands like a sovereign heavenly tree on Kailāsa. His Brahman-form fills everything, and because of non-duality nothing higher or lower can exist beside him.

Nārāyaṇa's Śvetāśvataropaniṣaddīpikā

Vijñānabhagavat offers several readings for divi: the knowledge ahaṃ brahmāsmi, self-luminous consciousness, or the sun. In every interpretation, the unchanging tree denotes the One who pervades all appearances as gold pervades ornaments or a rope a snake.

Vijñānabhagavat's Śvetāśvataropaniṣadvivaraṇa

na jyāyo 'sti kiṃcit LV1958 ] na jyāyo 'sti kaścit ASS1927

Critical Apparatus

Höher als der nichts andres ist vorhanden, Nichts Kleineres und nichts Größeres, was auch immer, Als Baum im Himmel wurzelnd steht der Eine,<1> Der Purusha, der diese ganze Welt füllt.<2>
<1: Es ist derselbe Baum, von dem Kāṭh. 6,1 die Rede ist.>
<2: = Mahānār. 10,20.>

Paul Deussen - 1921

Than whom there is naught else higher, Than whom there is naught smaller, naught greater, The One stands like a tree established in heaven. By Him, the Person, this whole world is filled.<1><2>
<1: Compare “the eternal fig-tree rooted in heaven,” described at Kaṭha 6. 1.>
<2: This stanza = Mahānār. 10. 20.>

Robert Hume - 1921

This whole (universe) is pervaded by that Perfect Being than whom there is nothing higher or lower, than whom there is nothing smaller or greater; who stands alone in His glory, immovable like a tree.

Siddhesvar Varma Shastri - 1916

Paul Deussen - 1897

This whole universe is filled by this person (purusha), to whom there is nothing superior, from whom there is nothing different, than whom there is nothing smaller or larger, who stands alone, fixed like a tree in the sky.<1>
<1: Divi, the sky, is explained by Śaṅkara as dyotanātmani svamahimni.>

F. Max Müller - 1884

By him, than whom nothing is greater, than whom nothing more subtle, nothing older, who one alone stands in the heavens like an unshaken tree, by him, the perfect spirit (Purusha), all this is pervaded.

Edward Röer - 1853

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Dr. Ronald Steiner

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The "Yoga Doc" - Dr. Ronald Steiner is the founder of the AYI method. This method links traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative Yogatherapy and living Philosophy. This forms a practice that is personal for each and... more ›

Nils Jacob Liersch

Meine Begeisterung für Yoga, indische Philosophie und Sanskrit führte mich zum Studium der Indologie und Religionswissenschaft an der Universität Heidelberg. Seit 2004 befinde ich mich auf meinem persönlichen Yogaweg... more ›

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01.09.2021

Kapitel 3, Verse 7 bis 9:
https://youtu.be/jH-_A4cdtqw
Diesmal hat mich besonders der vorletzte Versfuß von Vers 9 inspiriert bzw. an etwas erinnert, was ich vor langer Zeit von einem Yogi hörte, nämlich, dass das menschliche Wesen wie ein umgedrehter, im Himmel wurzelnder Baum, betrachtet werden könne, wenn man sich dessen Nervensystem vor Augen führt: Das Gehirn sei der Wurzelballen dieses Baumes, das Nervengeflecht im Rückenmark der Stamm, und die von dort ausgehenden Nervenbahnen die mannigfaltigen Zweige des Baumes. Der Lebenssaft in diesem Baum sei die lebendige Kraft Gottes (deva shakti). Bei den meisten Menschen würde die Aufmerksamkeit mit dem sich von der Wurzel her ausbreitenden Strom der Shakti nach außen Gehen - zu den äußere Reize empfangenden Nervenenden. In der Meditation jedoch kehrten wir unsere Aufmerksamkeit nach innen und stromaufwärts, sodass wir schließlich zur Quelle des Stroms, zum "großen Licht" gelangten.
Da bekommt das Gegen-den-Strom-Schwimmen noch eine tiefere Bedeutung. :-)

13.09.2021

Tolles Bild mit dem Gehirn als Wurzel. Danke Ulf fürs teilen, welch schöner Bezug zu diesem Abschnitt!

02.09.2021

Ein super toller Gedanke. Danke!

SVU 3.7-3.9: The Sun-Bright Being Beyond Darkness

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