Upanishads · Māṇḍūkya 4
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वप्नस्थानो ऽन्तःप्रज्ञः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनविंशतिमुखः प्रविविक्तभुक् तैजसो द्वितीयः पादः
Transliteration (IAST)
svapnasthāno 'ntaḥprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ praviviktabhuk taijaso dvitīyaḥ pādaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्वप्नस्थानःsvapnasthānaḥwhose sphere is dream (svapna-sthāna); abiding in the dream state; dwelling in reverie
अन्तःप्रज्ञःantaḥprajñaḥconscious inward (antaḥ-prajña); with awareness turned within; inwardly cognising
सप्ताङ्गःsaptāṅgaḥseven-limbed; having seven limbs
एकोनविंशतिमुखःekonaviṃśatimukhaḥwith nineteen mouths; having nineteen entrances
प्रविविक्तभुक्praviviktabhukenjoying the subtle (pravivikta-bhuj — 'what is separated [from flesh]'); eater of the fine; feeding on images
तैजसःtaijasaḥTaijasa ('the Luminous', from tejas — consciousness shining by its own light); the Fire-bright one; the lord of dream
द्वितीयःdvitīyaḥthe second (dvitīya); second [in order]; the secondary
पादःpādaḥquarter; foot
Translation
The second quarter is Taijasa: his sphere is dream, his awareness is turned within; seven-limbed, with nineteen mouths, he enjoys the subtle.
Version
3c3f7b642c01 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:21:18 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second pāda — the maker of the night. svapna-sthānaḥ — "his place is dream"; antaḥ-prajñaḥ — "conscious inward": the same ray of consciousness has turned a hundred and eighty degrees — from the world to the storerooms of memory. The apparatus is the same: seven limbs, nineteen mouths — the dreamer eats with the same mouths, but the food is different: pravivikta-bhuk — "enjoying the separated, the subtle": images without substance, pure impressions untied from the flesh of things.
His name is taijasaḥ, "the Luminous" (from tejas): in dream, consciousness shines by its own light: there is no sun, the eye is shut — and worlds are seen (Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4.3.9: "here he himself is his own light"). Dream is a nightly proof that consciousness needs no external world in order to see: it builds worlds out of itself (Praśna 4.5: "he sees what has been seen and what has not been seen… being all, he sees").
And this pāda is deeper than the first (closer to self-luminosity), yet it is still not home: the taijasa is a prisoner of his own storerooms; he consumes the traces of the day, reshuffled by desire and fear. From the common world of waking to the private world of dream: a step inward has been taken, but the eater still eats and does not know himself. Next comes the state where the eating ends.