ओं ब्रह्मविद् आप्नोति परम् तत् एषा अभ्युक्ता सत्यम् ज्ञानम् अनन्तम् ब्रह्म यो वेद निहितम् गुहायाम् परमे व्योमन् सः अश्नुते सर्वान् कामान् सह ब्रह्मणा विपश्चिता इति तस्मात् वै एतस्मात् आत्मनः आकाशः सम्भूतः आकाशात् वायुः वायोः अग्निः अग्नेः आपः अद्भ्यः पृथिवी पृथिव्याः ओषधयः ओषधीभ्यः अन्नम् अन्नात् पुरुषः सः वै एषः पुरुषः अन्नरसमयः तस्य इदम् एव शिरः अयम् दक्षिणः पक्षः अयम् उत्तरः पक्षः अयम् आत्मा इदम् पुछ्छम् प्रतिष्ठा तत् अपि एषः श्लोकः भवति
oṃ brahmavid āpnoti param tat eṣā abhyuktā satyam jñānam anantam brahma yo veda nihitam guhāyām parame vyoman saḥ aśnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaścitā iti tasmāt vai etasmāt ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ ākāśāt vāyuḥ vāyoḥ agniḥ agneḥ āpaḥ adbhyaḥ pṛthivī pṛthivyāḥ oṣadhayaḥ oṣadhībhyaḥ annam annāt puruṣaḥ saḥ vai eṣaḥ puruṣaḥ annarasamayaḥ tasya idam eva śiraḥ ayam dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ ayam uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ ayam ātmā idam puchcham pratiṣṭhā tat api eṣaḥ ślokaḥ bhavati
Oṁ. The knower of Brahman attains the Highest. Of that it is said: "Brahman is truth, knowledge, infinity. He who knows Him as hidden in the secret place [of the heart], in the highest space, enjoys all desires — together with Brahman, the All-wise." From this Ātman space came into being, from space the wind, from the wind fire, from fire the waters, from the waters the earth, from the earth the herbs, from the herbs food, from food man. This man consists of the essence of food: this is his head, this his right side, this his left side, this his trunk-self, this his lower part, the support. Of that there is also a verse.
94e73c6e3b25 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
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The second vallī opens with the thesis of the whole Vedānta: brahmavid āpnoti param — "the knower of Brahman attains the Highest", and with the definition that became classic: satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma — "truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman": not "true, knowing, infinite" (as one quality among others) but Truth itself, Knowledge itself, Limitlessness itself — three words, each of which purifies the other two: truth without knowledge is blind, knowledge without infinity is bounded, infinity without truth is empty.
A precious detail of the promise: so 'śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaścitā — "he enjoys all desires together (saha!) with Brahman the All-wise": not "instead of desires, emptiness", nor even "the desires are fulfilled", but an enjoying with Him: fullness is experienced in company with the living Brahman — the Upaniṣad drops in passing a word that holds the whole mystery: bliss is shared.
Then the ladder of creation downward: Ātman → space → wind → fire → waters → earth → herbs → food → man: eight steps from Spirit to dinner; and the first "portrait" of man: anna-rasa-maya — "consisting of the essence of food", with head, sides, middle and support. So the programme of the vallī is announced: man is a nest of sheaths, and the Upaniṣad will lead us from the food-doll to the hidden Dweller — peeling off layer after layer, kośa after kośa.