Upanishads · Kena 3.1
॥
Devanāgarī
ब्रह्म ह देवेभ्यो विजिग्ये तस्य ह ब्रह्मणो विजये देवा अमहीयन्त ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
brahma ha devebhyo vijigye tasya ha brahmaṇo vijaye devā amahīyanta ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; the Supreme reality
हhaindeed; truly
देवेभ्यःdevebhyaḥfor the gods; on behalf of the gods
विजिग्येvijigyewon the victory (perfect of vi-√ji — 'to conquer'); conquered; prevailed
तस्यtasyaof Him; of that
हhaindeed; truly
ब्रह्मणःbrahmaṇaḥof Brahman; of the Absolute
विजयेvijayein the victory; at the victory; in the triumph
देवाःdevāḥthe gods; the shining powers
अमहीयन्तamahīyantaexalted themselves (from √mah — 'to magnify'); gloried in themselves; thought themselves great
Translation
Brahman won a victory for the gods; but in that victory of Brahman the gods exalted themselves.
Version
39365d5f9dbd · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
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Here begins the parable — one of the great parables of the Vedas. brahma ha devebhyo vijigye — "Brahman conquered for the gods": in the war of gods and asuras the victory was won by Him — for them (devebhyaḥ, dative: on their behalf). Note at once what kind of Brahman this is: He fights, He grants victory to His own — not the abstract principle of philosophers, indifferent to battles, but a living Lord who takes the side of those devoted to Him.
devā amahīyanta — "the gods exalted themselves": they appropriated the glory of His victory. The subtlest of thefts is to ascribe to oneself what has been done through one. And it is not demons who commit it: gods, beings of goodness, victors in a righteous war. Pride is not only a vice of the wicked; it is the last temptation of the righteous, and the more dangerous the more lawful its occasion appears.
The Bhagavad-gītā (3.27) names the root of this blindness: ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate — "bewildered by egoism, [a man] thinks: 'I am the doer'". All that follows is the story of how the Lord mercifully shatters that "I myself" — not with a thunderbolt, but with a blade of grass.