Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,1.5
॥
Devanāgarī
यः ह वै आयतनम् वेद आयतनम् ह स्वानाम् भवति मनः ह वा आयतनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yaḥ ha vai āyatanam veda āyatanam ha svānām bhavati manaḥ ha vā āyatanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यःyaḥwho; the one who
हhaindeed; surely
वैvaiverily; indeed
आयतनम्āyatanamthe abode (āyatana — 'a dwelling-place, a receptacle'); the dwelling place; a receptacle
वेदvedaknows; understands
आयतनम्āyatanamthe abode (āyatana — 'a dwelling-place, a receptacle'); the dwelling place; a receptacle
हhaindeed; surely
स्वानाम्svānāmamong his own; for his own
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
मनःmanaḥthe mind (manas); the intellect; thought
हhaindeed; surely
वाvāverily; surely
आयतनम्āyatanamthe abode (āyatana — 'a dwelling-place, a receptacle'); the dwelling place; a receptacle
Translation
He who knows the abode becomes an abode for his own. The mind is the abode.
Version
fb24c51a43b7 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:25:12 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mind is āyatana, "the abode": in it all perceptions lodge — what is seen, heard and said is stored in the mind as travellers in a house. He who knows this "becomes himself an abode for his own" — a person whom others come to, in whom thoughts, counsels and hearts find shelter.
Five titles have been handed out: breath is the eldest and best, speech the wealth, the eye the support, hearing the attainment, the mind the abode. The list is deliberately drawn so that every title sounds like a claim to primacy — and the next verse strikes the spark of the quarrel. The Upaniṣad loves this device: first give each its truth, so as then to show whose truth is common to all.