Upanishads · Muṇḍaka 3.1.4
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणः हि एषः यः सर्वभूतैः विभाति विजानन् विद्वान् भवते न अतिवादी ।
आत्मक्रीडः आत्मरतिः क्रियावान् एषः ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇaḥ hi eṣaḥ yaḥ sarvabhūtaiḥ vibhāti vijānan vidvān bhavate na ativādī |
ātmakrīḍaḥ ātmaratiḥ kriyāvān eṣaḥ brahmavidāṃ variṣṭhaḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राणः हिprāṇaḥ hithe prāṇa indeed; the vital force precisely
एषःeṣaḥthis; He
यःyaḥwhich; who
सर्वभूतैःsarvabhūtaiḥthrough all beings; with all that lives
विभातिvibhātishines forth (vi-√bhā); shines forth [through all]; blazes
विजानन्vijānandiscerning; realising
विद्वान्vidvānknowing; wise
भवतेbhavatebecomes; is
नnanot; no
अतिवादीativādīover-talkative (ati-vādin — 'one who out-talks'); a disputer; full of words
आत्मक्रीडःātmakrīḍaḥplaying in the Ātman (ātma-krīḍa); whose sport is in the Spirit; joyously at play in the Self
आत्मरतिःātmaratiḥdelighting in the Ātman (ātma-rati); whose delight is in the Spirit; rejoicing in the Self
क्रियावान्kriyāvānactive (kriyā-vat); performing works; effective
एषःeṣaḥthis; such
ब्रह्मविदाम्brahmavidāmamong the knowers of Brahman (brahma-vid); among the brahma-vids; among those who know Brahman
वरिष्ठःvariṣṭhaḥthe best; the highest
Translation
For He is the life that shines through all beings. The sage who knows this multiplies no words; playing in the Ātman, delighting in the Ātman, active — he is the best of the knowers of Brahman.
Version
1ba871591af8 · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:10:40 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A portrait of one who has attained sāmya — and how unexpected it is! prāṇo hy eṣa yaḥ sarva-bhūtair vibhāti — "He is the life that shines through all beings": one who has beheld the Lord sees Him henceforth shining through everything alive. vijānan vidvān bhavate nātivādī — "having discerned, the knower does not become over-talkative": ativādin — "one who out-talks", a disputant, a winner of debates: real knowledge diminishes words: he who has seen has no need to out-argue; it is uncertainty that makes noise.
ātma-krīḍa ātma-ratiḥ — "playing in the Ātman, delighting in the Ātman": words of the rarest depth: not "extinguished", not "detached" — playing: krīḍā is play, a free joy without need or fear; the source of his gaiety has moved from inside the world to inside the Spirit. And at once: kriyāvān — "active"! The knower does not leave his works: a joy independent of fruits makes him for the first time a truly free doer (Gītā 3.25: "as the ignorant act from attachment, so let the knower act without attachment, for the good of the world").
eṣa brahma-vidāṁ variṣṭhaḥ — "he is the best of the knowers of Brahman": the superlative is given not to a hermit and not to an orator but to the man in whom stillness of lips, play of heart and labour of hands have come together. Such is maturity: neither flight from the world nor service of the world for the world's sake, but service out of fullness — in play.