Upanishads · Kena 2.4
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रतिबोधविदितं मतम् अमृतत्वं हि विन्दते ।
आत्मना विन्दते वीर्यं विद्यया विन्दते ऽमृतम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
pratibodhaviditaṃ matam amṛtatvaṃ hi vindate |
ātmanā vindate vīryaṃ vidyayā vindate 'mṛtam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रतिबोधpratibodhaat every awakening [of consciousness]; in every flash of perception (prati-bodha); in the face of each act of awareness
विदितम्viditamknown; recognised
मतम्matamis held [to be so]; is understood
अमृतत्वम्amṛtatvamimmortality; imperishability; the state of deathlessness
हिhiindeed; for
विन्दतेvindateobtains (from √vid — 'to find'); finds; attains
आत्मनाātmanāby the self; through oneself
विन्दतेvindateobtains (from √vid — 'to find'); finds; attains
वीर्यम्vīryamstrength; vigour, might (vīrya); spiritual valour
विद्ययाvidyayāby knowledge; by vidyā
विन्दतेvindateobtains (from √vid — 'to find'); finds; attains
अमृतम्amṛtamthe immortal; the nectar of immortality
Translation
He is known in every awakening [of consciousness] — such is the [right] understanding, for so is immortality obtained. By the self one obtains strength, by knowledge one obtains immortality.
Version
f41fcb3e9ce0 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
pratibodha-viditam — "known at every awakening [of consciousness]": prati- means "at each, in the face of each". Every time perception flashes — a glance, a thought, a recognition — in that flash He is co-present by whom it shines. He need not be sought far from experience: every act of consciousness is His witness, and one who has learned to see the Witness behind the light sees Him unceasingly, for consciousness never goes out.
The second line apportions the fruits: ātmanā vindate vīryam — "by the self one obtains strength": he who has taken his stand in his true nature — as a soul, not as body and mind — obtains vīrya, an unassailable firmness; vidyayā vindate 'mṛtam — "by knowledge one obtains immortality". This is a literal echo of the Īśa Upaniṣad (mantra 11): vidyayāmṛtam aśnute — "by knowledge he tastes immortality"; the verbs vindate and aśnute — "finds" and "tastes" — both speak of immortality not as a cessation but as something found and savoured.
Thus the second khaṇḍa answers its own paradox: "I know and I do not know" is no dead end, for there is a kind of knowing that grows with every instant of awareness. Not an accumulation of information about Him, but a recognition of Him — in everything that shines.