Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,12.7
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् वै तत् ब्रह्म इति इदम् वाव तत् यः अयम् बहिर्धा पुरुषात् आकाशः यः वै सः बहिर्धा पुरुषात् आकाशः
Transliteration (IAST)
yat vai tat brahma iti idam vāva tat yaḥ ayam bahirdhā puruṣāt ākāśaḥ yaḥ vai saḥ bahirdhā puruṣāt ākāśaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhich; that which
वैvaiverily; indeed
तत्tatthat; this
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; sacred knowledge
इतिitithus; how
इदम्idamthis; thus
वावvāvatruly; indeed
तत्tatthat; this
यःyaḥwho; the one who
अयम्ayamthis; this one here
बहिर्धाbahirdhāoutside (bahirdhā); outside; outward
पुरुषात्puruṣātfrom the Puruṣa; than man
आकाशःākāśaḥspace; ether
यःyaḥwho; the one who
वैvaiverily; indeed
सःsaḥhe; that one
बहिर्धाbahirdhāoutside (bahirdhā); outside; outward
पुरुषात्puruṣātfrom the Puruṣa; than man
आकाशःākāśaḥspace; ether
Translation
And that which is [called] "Brahman" is indeed this space outside a man; and that space which is outside a man is —
Version
0b223163589d · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:02:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A threefold identification of spaces begins: yad vai tad brahmeti — "that which is [called] Brahman" — ayaṁ vāva sa yo 'yaṁ bahirdhā puruṣād ākāśaḥ — "is this very space outside a man": Brahman is identified as ākāśa, the containing expanse (Pravāhaṇa's answer in 1.9!).
But the Upaniṣad does not stop at the outward: the verse breaks off on the threshold of the next step — "and that which is outside…" — and the continuation will bring the expanse within: the outer sky will prove to be the same as the inner: the famous chain "outside — within — in the heart" begins, stitching the cosmos to the rib-cage.