Upanishads · Praśna 5.4
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यदि द्विमात्रेण मनसि संपद्यते ।
सो ऽन्तरीक्षं यजुर्भिर् उन्नीयते सोमलोकम् ।
स सोमलोके विभूतिम् अनुभूय पुनर् आवर्तते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yadi dvimātreṇa manasi saṃpadyate |
so 'ntarīkṣaṃ yajurbhir unnīyate somalokam |
sa somaloke vibhūtim anubhūya punar āvartate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथ यदिatha yadibut if; then when
द्विमात्रेणdvimātreṇaby two measures (dvi-mātra); by two morae of the syllable; by two parts
मनसिmanasiin the mind; in the manas
संपद्यतेsaṃpadyatehe is joined; he attains concentration
सःsaḥhe; such a man
अन्तरीक्षम्antarīkṣamspace; the middle world
यजुर्भिःyajurbhiḥby the yajus formulas; by the formulas of the Yajur-veda
उन्नीयतेunnīyatehe is led up (ud-√nī); he is raised; ascends
सोमलोकम्somalokamto the world of Soma (soma-loka — the lunar world); to the lunar abode; to the moon-world
सःsaḥhe; such
सोमलोकेsomalokein the world of Soma; in the lunar abode
विभूतिम्vibhūtimpower (vibhūti); greatness; the glory
अनुभूयanubhūyahaving lived through; having tasted
पुनःpunaḥagain; anew
आवर्ततेāvartatehe returns (ā-√vṛt); he comes again; he comes back
Translation
"But if he is joined in mind by two measures, the yajus formulas raise him to the mid-region, to the world of Soma. Having experienced greatness in the world of Soma, he returns again."
Version
6232970d1495 · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second step: dvimātreṇa manasi sampadyate — "by two measures he is joined in mind": "a" and "u", two thirds of the syllable — a deeper contemplation: not the lips only but the mind. The fruit is proportionate: yajurbhir unnīyate — "by the yajus (the formulas of the Yajur-veda) he is raised" to the antarikṣam — the mid-region, to the soma-lokam — the lunar world. But: sa somaloke vibhūtim anubhūya punar āvartate — "having experienced power in the world of Soma, he returns".
The lunar world is a station we already know: the southern path of works led there too (question 1, verse 9). The correspondence is deep: two measures without the third are a practice risen above the earth but not carried through to the Highest: meditation for the sake of the mind's calm, ritual for the sake of heaven — the religiosity of the middle. It is honestly paid with a middling paradise — and honestly limited: punar āvartate, the return.
Note the ascending series of conveyors: the ṛcs led to the world of men, the yajus to the mid-region, the sāmans (the next verse) will lead higher: three Vedas, three storeys of one ladder, and all three folded into the three sounds of one syllable. Oṁ is the whole Veda in seed; with what part of the seed you sow the heart, such is the harvest.