Upanishads · Praśna 4.6
॥
Devanāgarī
स यदा तेजसाभिभूतो भवति ।
अत्रैष देवः स्वप्नान्न पश्यति ।
अथ तदैतस्मिञ् शरीर एतत् सुखं भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
sa yadā tejasābhibhūto bhavati |
atraiṣa devaḥ svapnānna paśyati |
atha tadaitasmiñ śarīra etat sukhaṃ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः यदाsaḥ yadāwhen he; when this power
तेजसाtejasāby light (tejas); by the radiance; by the heat-and-light
अभिभूतःabhibhūtaḥis overwhelmed (abhi-√bhū — 'filled over'); is overcome; is absorbed
भवतिbhavatibecomes; is
अत्रatrahere; in this state
एषः देवःeṣaḥ devaḥthis deva; this divine power
स्वप्नान्svapnāndreams; vision in sleep
न पश्यतिna paśyatidoes not see; does not behold
अथ तदाatha tadāand then; after this
एतस्मिन् शरीरेetasmin śarīrein this body; in this body
एतत् सुखम्etat sukhamthis happiness (sukha); that bliss; this delight
भवतिbhavatiis; becomes
Translation
"But when he is overwhelmed by light, then this god sees no dreams; then in this body there is that [very] happiness."
Version
aecb60479912 · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third depth of the night: sa yadā tejasābhibhūto bhavati — "when he is overwhelmed by light" — the dreaming mind is covered over, "filled over" (abhi-bhūta) by a certain tejas, a radiance — atraiṣa devaḥ svapnān na paśyati — "then this god sees no dreams": deep sleep, suṣupti. And its definition: atha tadaitasmiñ śarīra etat sukhaṁ bhavati — "then in this body there is this happiness".
The verse holds a double riddle: what is the light that quenches dreams, and whose is that happiness (Gārgya's fourth sub-question!), if the experiencer — the mind — is itself extinguished? The answer grows out of the very words: the light that overwhelms the mind is not mental (the mind is overwhelmed by it, does not produce it); a happiness without images and without an "I" is neither sensory (the senses sleep) nor mental (thought sleeps). One thing remains: it is the nearness of the Ground itself — that "leading up to Brahman day by day" (verse 45); the bliss of deep sleep is a shadow of the bliss of Brahman, tasted without knowing.
That is why a man prizes deep sleep so and rises from it renewed: he has been at the Source. But he was a blind guest: neither the Master's face nor any memory of the meeting. The difference between suṣupti and liberation is not of place but of sight; and the verses that follow will lead from "he sleeps, overwhelmed by light" to "he is established in the supreme Ātman" — from blind lodging to sonship.