Upanishads · Kena 4.7
॥
Devanāgarī
उपनिषदं भो ब्रूहीत्य् उक्ता त उपनिषद् ब्राह्मीं वाव त उपनिषदम् अब्रूमेति ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
upaniṣadaṃ bho brūhīty uktā ta upaniṣad brāhmīṃ vāva ta upaniṣadam abrūmeti ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उपनिषदम्upaniṣadamthe Upaniṣad (upa-ni-√sad — 'to sit near': the secret teaching received at the teacher's feet); the hidden teaching; the confidential instruction
भोःbhoḥO venerable one; sir
ब्रूहिbrūhitell; expound
इतिitithus; having said
उक्ताuktāit has been said; you have asked
तेteto you; for you
उपनिषद्upaniṣadthe Upaniṣad; the hidden teaching
ब्राह्मीम्brāhmīmabout Brahman; the brahmic one; relating to Brahman
वावvāvaindeed; truly
तेteto you; for you
उपनिषदम्upaniṣadamthe Upaniṣad (upa-ni-√sad — 'to sit near': the secret teaching received at the teacher's feet); the hidden teaching; the confidential instruction
अब्रूमabrūmawe have told (from √brū — 'to speak'); we have declared; we have said
इतिitithus; so it is
Translation
"Tell us the Upaniṣad, venerable one!" — The Upaniṣad has been told you: truly, we have told you the Upaniṣad of Brahman Himself.
Version
7ad083c4801d · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:28:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The pupil asks for more: "tell the Upaniṣad" — the secret instruction; the teacher answers that it has already been given — brāhmīṁ vāva ta upaniṣadam abrūma, "we have told you the Upaniṣad of Brahman Himself". The word upaniṣad means "sitting near" (upa-ni-√sad): knowledge handed on at the teacher's feet, from mouth to ear.
In the teacher's refusal there is an important lesson about the nature of mystery. The secret is not "one more doctrine" hidden behind the one set forth; there is no second bottom apart from what has been said. The mystery of the Upaniṣad is not concealed — it is deep: what was said about "the ear of the ear", about knowing and not-knowing, about the blade of grass and about Umā, about Tadvana, is unfolded not by an additional secret but by living according to it. The craving for "one more, still more secret knowledge" is a subtle greed of the mind, forever deferring the fulfilment of what has already been heard; the teacher cuts it off in a single phrase: everything has been said.
One question remains: on what is this knowledge to stand in a man? The answer comes in the next mantra, and it is soberingly practical.