The verse and its meaning · Upanishads · Shvetashvatara · Hands and Feet Everywhere

Faces on Every Side

Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3.3

विश्वतश्चक्षुरुत विश्वतोमुखो विश्वतोबाहुरुत विश्वतस्पात् । सम्बाहुभ्यां धमति सम्पतत्रैर्द्यावाभूमी जनयन्देव एकः

Meaning · English

Eyes everywhere, faces everywhere, arms everywhere, feet everywhere: the one God blows heaven and earth into being, working with arms and with wings.

The creator has no one place where he is. Every eye that sees is his eye, every face is his face, every arm that lifts and every foot that steps belongs to him. He is not a figure standing outside the world but the one acting through everything. The verb for his making is the word for a smith blowing on coals, and the wings may be the flaps of the bellows. With those, he fans sky and earth into being. He is one: no partner, no second maker.

Think of a city's water supply. Every kitchen tap in every flat looks like its own small source, and each one runs separately. But open any of them and the same reservoir is flowing. Every eye that looks, every hand that works, every foot that walks is one maker reaching out through it.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

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• Before: Rudra Stands Alone · Shvetashvatara Upanishad 3.2
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