Upanishads · Aitareya 1,3.12
॥
Devanāgarī
सः एतम् एव सीमानम् विदार्य एतया द्वारा प्रापद्यत सा एषा विदृतिः नाम द्वाः तत् एतत् नान्दनम् तस्य त्रयः आवसथाः त्रयः स्वप्नाः अयम् आवसथः अयम् आवसथः अयम् आवसथः इति
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ etam eva sīmānam vidārya etayā dvārā prāpadyata sā eṣā vidṛtiḥ nāma dvāḥ tat etat nāndanam tasya trayaḥ āvasathāḥ trayaḥ svapnāḥ ayam āvasathaḥ ayam āvasathaḥ ayam āvasathaḥ iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥHe; that one
एतम्etamthis; the present
एवevaprecisely; very
सीमानम्sīmānamthe suture (sīman — the parting of the crown); the cranial suture; the fontanelle
विदार्यvidāryahaving split (vi-√dṝ); having cleft; having opened
एतयाetayāby this; through this
द्वाराdvārādoor; gate
प्रापद्यतprāpadyataentered; stepped in
साsāshe; this
एषाeṣāthis; she
विदृतिःvidṛtiḥvidṛti ('the cleft'); the fissure; the opening
नामnāmaby name; so called
द्वाःdvāḥdoor; gate
तत्tatthat; this
एतत्etatthis; the present
नान्दनम्nāndanamthe [place of] delight (nāndana, from √nand — 'to rejoice'); rejoicing; the abode of bliss
तस्यtasyaof Him; his
त्रयःtrayaḥthree; a trio of
आवसथाःāvasathāḥdwellings (āvasatha); abodes; resting places
त्रयःtrayaḥthree; a trio of
स्वप्नाःsvapnāḥdreams (svapna — here: states); dream-states; three sleeps
अयम्ayamthis; the present
आवसथःāvasathaḥdwelling; place of abiding
अयम्ayamthis; the present
आवसथःāvasathaḥdwelling; place of abiding
अयम्ayamthis; the present
आवसथःāvasathaḥdwelling; place of abiding
इतिitithus; so saying
Translation
Having split this very suture, He entered by this door. The name of that door is vidṛti, "the cleft"; this is the [place of] delight. He has three dwellings, three dreams: this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling.
Version
f8285a894b3b · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:36:16 PM UTC
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The Lord's entrance: sa etam eva sīmānaṁ vidārya — "having split this suture" — the upper suture of the skull (sīman — the parting of the crown, the fontanelle) — etayā dvārā prāpadyata — "He entered by this door". The door is named: vidṛti — "the cleft"; and the place is named: nāndana — "rejoicing": where He entered, there is joy: the crown, the gate of Brahman (the brahma-randhra of the yogic charts — the Taittirīya 1.6 led there too, by "the parting where the hair divides"), the place of blissful union with Him who entered.
The sense of an entrance from above is profound: the gods entered through their organs — from outside, along their services; the Master enters not through a function but through the crown — from above, along the vertical, where there is no service at all: He is not one function among functions but a Presence above them. That is why He cannot be found by an inventory of faculties (the question "who am I?" of the previous verse!): He came in by another door.
tasya traya āvasathās trayaḥ svapnāḥ — "He has three dwellings, three dreams": waking, dream, deep sleep — the three lodgings of the One who entered (the Māṇḍūkya will take them apart syllable by syllable!): ayam āvasathaḥ — "this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling" — the teacher points: the right eye (waking), the mind (dream), the heart (the depth). The Lord has taken up residence on all three storeys of your states — and all three are dreams to Him: He alone is awake.