Kaivalya Upanishad: Verse 7

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

हृत्पुण्डरीकं विरजं विशुद्धं विचिन्त्य मध्ये विशदं विशोकम् ।

अचिन्त्यमव्यक्तमनन्तरूपं शिवं प्रशान्तममृतं ब्रह्मयोनिम् ॥

तमादिमध्यान्तविहीनमेकं विभुं चिदानन्दमरूपमद्भुतम् ।

उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं त्रिलोचनं नीलकण्ठं प्रशान्तम् ।

ध्यात्वा मुनिर्गच्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसाक्षिं तमसः परस्तात् ॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

हृत्-पुण्डरीकम् । विरजम् । विशुद्धम् । विचिन्त्य । मध्ये । विशदम् । विशोकम् ।

अचिन्त्यम् । अव्यक्तम् । अनन्त-रूपम् । शिवम् । प्रशान्तम् । अमृतम् । ब्रह्म-योनिम् ।

तम् । आदि-मध्य-अन्त-विहीनम् । एकम् । विभुम् । चित्-आनन्दम् । अरूपम् । अद्भुतम् ।

उमा-सहायम् । परम-ईश्वरम् । प्रभुम् । त्रि-लोचनम् । नील-कण्ठम् । प्रशान्तम् ।

ध्यात्वा । मुनिः । गच्छति । भूत-योनिम् । समस्त-साक्षिम् । तमसः । परस्तात् ।

Recitation with translationKaivalya Upanishad 7

IAST Transliteration

hṛtpuṇḍarīkaṃ virajaṃ viśuddhaṃ vicintya madhye viśadaṃ viśokam |

acintyamavyaktamanantarūpaṃ śivaṃ praśāntamamṛtaṃ brahmayonim ||

tamādimadhyāntavihīnamekaṃ vibhuṃ cidānandamarūpamadbhu tam |

umāsahāyaṃ parameśvaraṃ prabhuṃ trilocanaṃ nīlakaṇṭhaṃ praśāntam |

dhyātvā munirgacchati bhūtayoniṃ samastasākṣiṃ tamasaḥ parastāt ||

Translation

ഹൃദയപുണ്ഡരീകം—രജസ്സില്ലാത്തതും നിർമ്മലവും പരിശുദ്ധവും—ധ്യാനിച്ച്, അതിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യേ പ്രകാശമുള്ള, ശോകരഹിതമായ തത്ത്വത്തെ നിരന്തരം ചിന്തിക്കണം. അത് അചിന്ത്യം, അവ്യക്തം, അനന്തരൂപം; ശിവം—മംഗളമയൻ, പരമശാന്തൻ, അമൃതൻ, ബ്രഹ്മയോനി. ആദി-മധ്യ-അന്തമില്ലാത്ത ഏകതത്ത്വം, സർവ്വവ്യാപി, ചിദാനന്ദം, നിരാകാരം, അത്ഭുതം; ഉമാസഹായനായ പരമേശ്വരപ്രഭു, ത്രിലോചനൻ, നീലകണ്ഠൻ, പ്രശാന്തൻ—അവനെ ധ്യാനിച്ച മുനി ഭൂതയോനിയായ പരമകാരണം, സമസ്തസാക്ഷി, തമസ്സിന് അപ്പുറമുള്ള പരതത്ത്വം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

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Academic Translation

Having contemplated the lotus of the heart—stainless, completely pure—(and) in its midst the clear, sorrowless (Reality), (one contemplates) the unthinkable, the unmanifest, of infinite forms; auspicious (Śiva), utterly tranquil, immortal, the source/womb of Brahman. That One—without beginning, middle, or end; one alone; all-pervading; consciousness-and-bliss; formless, wondrous; the Lord of all, the supreme Īśvara, the mighty one, the three-eyed, blue-throated, tranquil—having meditated on Him, the sage reaches the source of beings, the witness of all, beyond darkness.

Verse Context

• Brahman/Īśvara-dhyāna leading to mokṣa; Brahman as sākṣin (witness) and as the source of all
• Mahavakya: Supports the import of «अहं ब्रह्मास्मि» (Bṛhadāraṇyaka) and «प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म» (Aitareya) by identifying the innermost luminous witness in the heart with Brahman; also aligns with «तत् त्वम् असि» through the implied identity of the meditator’s inner Self with the supreme.
• Atharva
• Atharva-veda (Kaivalya Upaniṣad; commonly transmitted in Atharva tradition; specific śākhā not firmly fixed in extant recensions) Shakha
• Chandas: Mixed/Upaniṣadic verse (not strictly fixed; largely anuṣṭubh-like pāda cadence with expansions)