Upanishads · Praśna 4.10
॥
Devanāgarī
परम् एवाक्षरं प्रतिपद्यते ।
स यो ह वै तदच्छायम् अशरीरम् अलोहितं शुभ्रम् अक्षरं वेदयते यस् तु सोम्य ।
स सर्वः सर्वो भवति ।
तद् एष श्लोकः
Transliteration (IAST)
param evākṣaraṃ pratipadyate |
sa yo ha vai tadacchāyam aśarīram alohitaṃ śubhram akṣaraṃ vedayate yas tu somya |
sa sarvaḥ sarvo bhavati |
tad eṣa ślokaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
परम् एवparam evathe supreme indeed; the transcendent
अक्षरम्akṣaramthe imperishable; the indestructible
प्रतिपद्यतेpratipadyateattains; enters
सः यः ह वैsaḥ yaḥ ha vaihe who truly; that very one
तत्tatthat; it
अच्छायम्acchāyamshadowless (a-cchāya); without shadow; casting no shadow
अशरीरम्aśarīrambodiless (a-śarīra); without body; beyond flesh
अलोहितम्alohitambloodless (a-lohita); without blood; beyond perishable flesh
शुभ्रम्śubhramresplendent (śubhra — 'shining-pure'); gleaming; luminous
अक्षरम्akṣaramthe imperishable; the indestructible
वेदयतेvedayateknows (from √vid); realises; is aware of
यः तुyaḥ tuwho then; the one who
सोम्यsomyaO gentle one; dear one
सः सर्वःsaḥ sarvaḥhe, all; he, entire
सर्वः भवतिsarvaḥ bhavatibecomes all; attains universality; is made all
तत् एषः श्लोकःtat eṣaḥ ślokaḥon this, this verse; a śloka expresses this
Translation
"He attains the supreme Imperishable — he who, dear one, knows That which is without shadow, without body, without blood, resplendent, Imperishable; he becomes all, [entering] into All. Of this, this verse."
Version
425dd40b17fa · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fruit of the fourth knowledge: sa yo ha vai tad acchāyam aśarīram alohitaṁ śubhram akṣaraṁ vedayate — "he who knows That — shadowless, bodiless, bloodless, resplendent, Imperishable". Three negations cleanse the image of the Highest of everything created: acchāyam — "without shadow": pure light casting no double (everything created is doubled by a shadow — He alone is shadowless); aśarīram — without a material body; alohitam — without blood, without perishable flesh; śubhram — resplendent.
sa sarvaḥ sarvo bhavati — "he becomes all": one who has known the Ground of all enters into kinship with all — nothing is alien any more to him who has recognized the common Root; his consciousness widens to the compass of the Known (the Muṇḍaka will say: "the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman" — in quality, as iron in fire is fiery).
Note the measure of the negations: what is created is taken away — shadow, flesh, blood — but not light and not being: the Imperishable is śubhram, shining, not empty. The Upaniṣads deny in God everything mortal in order to safeguard what is living in Him: negative theology here is the handmaid of light, not of darkness. The sealing verse (52) will finish the thought: in this Imperishable is the nest of all, and he who knows it is all-knowing.