Upanishads · Kena 3.2
॥
Devanāgarī
त ऐक्षन्तास्माकम् एवायं विजयो ऽस्माकम् एवायं महिमेति ।
तद् धैषां विजज्ञौ तेभ्यो ह प्रादुर्बभूव तन् न व्यजानत किम् इदं यक्षम् इति ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
ta aikṣantāsmākam evāyaṃ vijayo 'smākam evāyaṃ mahimeti |
tad dhaiṣāṃ vijajñau tebhyo ha prādurbabhūva tan na vyajānata kim idaṃ yakṣam iti ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तेtethey; those gods
ऐक्षन्तaikṣantareflected (from √īkṣ — 'to look, to consider'); thought; considered [within themselves]
अस्माकम् एवasmākam evaours alone; belonging to us only
अयम्ayamthis; this here
विजयःvijayaḥvictory; conquest
अस्माकम् एवasmākam evaours alone; belonging to us only
अयम्ayamthis; this here
महिमाmahimāgreatness; glory; might
इतिitithus; so thinking
तत्tatthis; such
हhaindeed; truly
एषाम्eṣāmof them; for them
विजज्ञौvijajñaudiscerned (perfect of vi-√jñā — 'to find out'); understood [their thought]; perceived
तेभ्यःtebhyaḥto them; before them
हhaindeed; truly
प्रादुर्बभूवprādurbabhūvaappeared (prādur-√bhū — 'to become visible'); stood forth; made Himself manifest
तत्tatthat; Him
नnanot; no
व्यजानतvyajānatathey recognised (vi-√jñā); they knew; they understood
किम्kimwhat; which
इदम्idamthis; here
यक्षम्yakṣamyakṣa, a spirit; a wondrous being; a mysterious apparition
इतिitithus; saying
Translation
They reflected: "Ours is this victory, ours is this greatness!" He discerned their [thought] and appeared before them. But they did not recognise Him: "What is this yakṣa?"
Version
f1137e98fd07 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
asmākam evāyaṁ vijayaḥ — "ours alone is this victory": the eva, "alone", gives everything away — pride does not merely rejoice, it appropriates with emphasis. tad dhaiṣāṁ vijajñau — "He discerned this thought of theirs": the inner witness of the first khaṇḍa, "the mind of the mind", reads the gods' thoughts like a book.
And His answer is not a thunderclap: tebhyo ha prādurbabhūva — "He appeared before them". To pride the Lord replies with presence. But a self-satisfied eye does not recognise even the manifest: the gods, who owe Him their victory, stand before Him and ask kim idaṁ yakṣam — "what is this spirit?" A yakṣa is a "wondrous being", the word for the unidentified: the Source of all their powers stands before them, and they open, so to speak, a file on an unknown phenomenon.
Such is the anatomy of self-exaltation: it does not abolish God's presence — it makes it unrecognisable. He may stand face to face, and the "victors" will be guessing what it is. All that follows is His mercy: those who did not recognise Him by His appearing He will teach to recognise Him by the failure of their powers.