Upanishads · Kena 4.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्यैष आदेशो यद् एतद् विद्युतो व्यद्युतदा इति न्यमीमिषदा इत्य् अधिदैवतम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
tasyaiṣa ādeśo yad etad vidyuto vyadyutadā iti nyamīmiṣadā ity adhidaivatam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्यtasyaof Him; concerning Him
एषःeṣaḥthis; such
आदेशःādeśaḥthe instruction (ā-√diś — 'to point out'); the indication; the teaching
यत्yatthat; when
एतत्etatthis; it
विद्युतःvidyutaḥof lightning; from the lightning; of the lightning's flash
व्यद्युतदाvyadyutadāit flashed! (vi-√dyut — 'to shine forth'); it gleamed; it blazed out
इतिitithus; like this
न्यमीमिषदाnyamīmiṣadāit winked! (ni-√miṣ — 'to blink'); it blinked; the eyelid closed
इतिitithus; like this
अधिदैवतम्adhidaivatamin the divine; with reference to the cosmic powers; on the level of the gods
Translation
This is the instruction concerning Him. In the divine: it is as though lightning flashed — as though an eye winked.
Version
12e65e58c65c · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
ādeśa is a condensed instruction, the distillate of the parable. adhidaivatam — "with reference to the divine", in the world of cosmic phenomena: He is like vidyuto vyadyutat, "the flash of lightning", like nimiṣat, "the wink of an eye". Both images speak of suddenness and brevity: Brahman does not stand still before our gaze like an object; He flashes — and the darkness is no longer the same.
Such was the whole parable: He appeared — and was not recognised; He tested — and vanished; He revealed Himself — through a word, in a single instant (tato haiva — "precisely then" Indra knew). A theophany cannot be held, cannot be stored up for future use, cannot be reproduced at will: He flashes when He pleases — and the instant of His flash outweighs centuries of staring.
Hence the whole structure of the spiritual life: not possession but wakefulness. Lightning cannot be seized — one can only be turned towards the sky when it flashes. All that prepares the meeting — purity, hearing, Indra's persistence — does not compel the flash but meets it; the rest is His free gift.