Upanishads · Praśna 4.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ हैनं सौर्यायणी गार्ग्यः पप्रच्छ ।
भगवन्न् एतस्मिन् पुरुषे कानि स्वपन्ति ।
कान्य् अस्मिञ् जाग्रति ।
कतर एष देवः स्वप्नान् पश्यति ।
कस्यैतत् सुखं भवति ।
कस्मिन् नु सर्वे संप्रतिष्ठिता भवन्तीति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha hainaṃ sauryāyaṇī gārgyaḥ papraccha |
bhagavann etasmin puruṣe kāni svapanti |
kāny asmiñ jāgrati |
katara eṣa devaḥ svapnān paśyati |
kasyaitat sukhaṃ bhavati |
kasmin nu sarve saṃpratiṣṭhitā bhavantīti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथ हatha hathen indeed; after this
एनम्enamit; to Him
सौर्यायणी गार्ग्यःsauryāyaṇī gārgyaḥSauryāyaṇī Gārgya; Gārgya of the Sauryāyaṇī line
पप्रच्छpapracchaasked; put a question
भगवन्bhagavanO venerable one; O master
एतस्मिन् पुरुषेetasmin puruṣein this man; in the said person
कानिkāniwhat, which; which [powers]; which
स्वपन्तिsvapantisleep (from √svap); fall asleep; repose
कानिkāniwhat, which; which [powers]; which
अस्मिन् जाग्रतिasmin jāgratikeep waking in him; remain awake in him
कतरः एषः देवःkataraḥ eṣaḥ devaḥwhich is this deva; which divine power
स्वप्नान् पश्यतिsvapnān paśyatisees dreams (svapnān √paś); beholds the dream-visions; dreams
कस्य एतत्kasya etatwhose is this; for whom is this
सुखम्sukhamhappiness (sukha); bliss; delight
भवतिbhavatiis; becomes
कस्मिन् नुkasmin nuin what then; in whom then
सर्वेsarveall; entirely
संप्रतिष्ठिताःsaṃpratiṣṭhitāḥare established; they rest
भवन्ति इतिbhavanti iti'they become', thus; they prove to be
Translation
Then Sauryāyaṇī Gārgya asked him: "Venerable one, what in a man sleeps? What in him keeps awake? Which of the gods sees dreams? Whose is that happiness [of deep sleep]? And in whom are they all established?"
Version
a9ab1c8b1bbc · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
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The fourth question turns the investigation inward — into the night. Five sub-questions dissect sleep with surgical precision: kāni svapanti — "what sleeps?"; kāny asmin jāgrati — "what keeps awake in him?" (already presupposing that not everything sleeps!); katara eṣa devaḥ svapnān paśyati — "which god sees dreams?"; kasyaitat sukhaṁ bhavati — "whose is that happiness?" — the bliss of deep dreamless sleep: who tastes it, if the "I" is switched off?; kasmin nu sarve sampratiṣṭhitā bhavanti — "and in whom are they all established?"
The genius of the question lies in its choice of material: sleep is everyone's nightly experience, and at the same time a ready-made laboratory of metaphysics: in it a man is taken apart before our eyes — the senses go out, the mind remains, then it too subsides, and yet a certain happiness and a certain being continue. Who remains when the "I" has been dismantled? No mountains or caves are needed: the chief mystery spends the night with each of us.
The last sub-question carries furthest: "in whom is everything established?" — it will lead beyond sleep altogether, to the supreme Ātman (verses 48–52). So the bedchamber becomes a door to the same place death led to in the Kaṭha: the paths differ in the scale of the experience, the goal is one.