Upanishads · Kena 2.1
॥
Devanāgarī
यदि मन्यसे सुवेदेति दहरम् एवापि नूनं त्वं वेत्थ ब्रह्मणो रूपम् ।
यद् अस्य त्वं यद् अस्य देवेष्व् अथ नु मीमांस्यम् एव ते मन्ये विदितम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yadi manyase suvedeti daharam evāpi nūnaṃ tvaṃ vettha brahmaṇo rūpam |
yad asya tvaṃ yad asya deveṣv atha nu mīmāṃsyam eva te manye viditam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदिyadiif; when
मन्यसेmanyaseyou think; you suppose
सुवेद इतिsuveda iti'I know well'; 'I know it fully'
दहरम्daharama little; a very small thing; a scanty measure
एव अपिeva apionly just; even precisely
नूनम्nūnamsurely; truly; of course
त्वम्tvamyou; you yourself
वेत्थvetthayou know (from √vid — 'to know'); you are aware of; you have grasped
ब्रह्मणःbrahmaṇaḥof Brahman; of the Absolute
रूपम्rūpamthe form; the manifestation
यत्yatwhat; that which
अस्यasyaof Him; of this
त्वम्tvamyou; by you
यत्yatwhat; that which
अस्यasyaof Him; of this
देवेषुdeveṣuamong the gods; in the divine powers
अथ नुatha nutherefore now; and so
मीमांस्यम्mīmāṃsyamis to be investigated (gerundive of √man — 'to ponder'); must be pondered further; requires further comprehension
एवevaindeed; truly
तेteby you; for you
मन्येmanyeI think; I hold
विदितम्viditamknown; understood
Translation
If you think "I know well", then small indeed is that form of Brahman which you know: what He is in you, and what He is among the gods. So you must inquire further. — "I think I know [now]."
Version
4241ddaa4b70 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The teacher tests the pupil at the most dangerous moment — the moment of understanding. daharam — "a little": if you suppose you know Brahman well, you know only a small measure of Him. And the measure is named exactly: yad asya tvaṁ — how He is manifest in you (the inner witness, "the mind of the mind"); yad asya deveṣu — and how He is manifest in the gods (the powers of nature, of which the third khaṇḍa will tell). Both are true faces, and neither is the fullness: an Infinite "well known" to a finite mind would not be the Infinite.
mīmāṁsyam eva te — "you must still investigate" (a gerundive from the root √man: "that which is to be deeply pondered"; hence the name of the Mīmāṁsā school). Knowledge of Brahman does not come to an end — it deepens for ever, and the demand "inquire further" is not a punishment but an open door.
The pupil's answer — manye viditam, "I think I know" — is no impertinence: the next mantra will show that he has grasped the lesson more subtly than it seems. He no longer says suveda — "I know well"; his new knowledge knows how not to know.