Upanishads · Kena 1.9
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् प्राणेन न प्राणिति येन प्राणः प्रणीयते ।
तद् एव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यद् इदम् उपासते ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yat prāṇena na prāṇiti yena prāṇaḥ praṇīyate |
tad eva brahma tvaṃ viddhi nedaṃ yad idam upāsate ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhat; that which
प्राणेनprāṇenaby the breath; by prāṇa
नnanot; no
प्राणितिprāṇitibreathes (from √an — 'to breathe', with pra-); lives by breath; sets breath in motion
येनyenaby which; thanks to which
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa; the breath
प्रणीयतेpraṇīyateis led (pra-√nī — 'to lead forward'); is directed; is set moving
तत्tatthat; precisely this
एवevaindeed; truly
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; the Absolute
त्वम्tvamyou; you yourself
विद्धिviddhiknow; understand
नnanot; no
इदम्idamthis; this here
यत्yatwhich; that which
इदम्idamthis; here
उपासतेupāsatethey worship; they contemplate
Translation
That which does not breathe by the breath, but by which the breath itself is led — know that alone to be Brahman, and not what men here worship.
Version
bfdcfb621caf · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth and concluding step — the prāṇa. yena prāṇaḥ praṇīyate — "by whom the prāṇa is led" (pra-√nī — "to lead forward"): even the vital force, subtlest of the body's powers, which moves both breath and heart, is no self-mover; someone leads it. The life of life — so the pentad closes: speech, mind, eye, ear, breath — the whole apparatus of experience runs on borrowed power.
In each of the five mantras stands the insistent tad eva — "that alone, that only, is Brahman". The fivefold repetition is not ornament but method: one by one the Upaniṣad takes away from us every candidate for "the highest" — mighty speech, deep mind, keen eye, sharp hearing, the very life-force which some schools revered as the ultimate ground — and each time it says: higher. Not the instruments deserve worship, but the Lord of the instruments.
With this the first khaṇḍa ends. But what has been heard is all too easily accepted too quickly: to say "I have understood" — and to make Him an object again. The whole second khaṇḍa is about that danger, and it begins with the words: "if you think you know well…"