Upanishads · Kaṭha 2.17
॥
Devanāgarī
एतद् आलम्बनं श्रेष्ठम् एतद् आलम्बनं परम् ।
एतद् आलम्बनं ज्ञात्वा ब्रह्मलोके महीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
etad ālambanaṃ śreṣṭham etad ālambanaṃ param /
etad ālambanaṃ jñātvā brahmaloke mahīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतत्etatthis; this
आलम्बनम्ālambanamthe support (ā-√lamb — 'that which one holds to'); the handhold; the refuge
श्रेष्ठम्śreṣṭhamthe very best (superlative of śrī); the best of all; the most excellent
एतत्etatthis; this
आलम्बनम्ālambanamthe support (ā-√lamb — 'that which one holds to'); the handhold; the refuge
परम्paramthe higher; the transcendent
एतत्etatthis; this
आलम्बनम्ālambanamthe support (ā-√lamb — 'that which one holds to'); the handhold; the refuge
ज्ञात्वाjñātvāhaving known; having known
ब्रह्मलोकेbrahmalokein the world of Brahman; in the abode of Brahman
महीयतेmahīyateis magnified (from √mah — 'to be great'); is glorified; is honoured
Translation
"This is the best support, this is the highest support. Having known this support, a man is magnified in the world of Brahman."
Version
4849a41d4a81 · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
etad ālambanaṁ śreṣṭham — "this support is the best": ālambana is that which one holds on to (ā-√lamb — "to hang upon"), the handrail of consciousness. To a mind that can stand on nothing — thoughts flow, the senses dart — a single unwavering foothold is given: the syllable in which the Imperishable is present. The repetition of Oṁ is no hypnotic exercise but the transfer of the soul's weight from the fluid to the unpassing.
śreṣṭham… param — "the best… the highest": the two degrees of comparison are not accidental: among all the supports of the world (wealth, kin, merits — everything Yama's price-list enumerated) the Name is the best; but it is also parama — outside the series, a support on the other side of comparisons, the only one that will not fail in the hour when all the rest fall away (vallī 6 will speak of that hour in detail).
brahmaloke mahīyate — "he is magnified in the world of Brahman": not "he arrives" but mahīyate — "he becomes great, revered": one who holds to the highest support partakes of its height himself. So the triptych on Oṁ is completed (verses 44–46): the Name as answer, the Name as identical with the Imperishable, the Name as support. Next Yama will turn his speech to Him who reveals himself to the one who holds on — to the unborn Ātman.