Upanishads · Chāndogya 8,6.4
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यत्र एतत् अबलिमानम् नीतः भवति तम् अभितः आसीनाः आहुः जानासि माम् जानासि माम् इति सः यावत् अस्मात् शरीरात् अनुत्क्रान्तः भवति तावत् जानाति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yatra etat abalimānam nītaḥ bhavati tam abhitaḥ āsīnāḥ āhuḥ jānāsi mām jānāsi mām iti saḥ yāvat asmāt śarīrāt anutkrāntaḥ bhavati tāvat jānāti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यत्रyatrawhere; when
एतत्etatthis; all this
अबलिमानम्abalimānamto feebleness (abaliman — 'weakness'); to weakness; to infirmity
नीतःnītaḥhe is brought (nīta); he is reduced; he is carried
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
तम्tamit; that one
अभितःabhitaḥaround (abhitas); round about; about him
आसीनाःāsīnāḥthose sitting (āsīna); seated; sitting by
आहुःāhuḥthey say; said
जानासिjānāsiyou know; you recognize
माम्māmme; to me
जानासिjānāsiyou know; you recognize
माम्māmme; to me
इतिitithus; how
सःsaḥhe; that one
यावत्yāvatas long as; as far as
अस्मात्asmātfrom this; out of this
शरीरात्śarīrātfrom the body; out of the body
अनुत्क्रान्तःanutkrāntaḥnot yet departed (an-utkrānta); not yet gone out; not yet passed away
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
तावत्tāvatso long; so much
जानातिjānātiknows; he comes to know
Translation
And when a man is brought to helplessness, those sitting round him say: "Do you know me? Do you know me?" As long as he has not gone out of this body, he knows.
Version
7dd65a28c300 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:52:58 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The deathbed scene, already familiar from the sixth chapter (6.15.1), returns — but now to a different purpose: there it taught where the powers are furled; here it will teach by what road the departing one goes out. The family with their "do you know me?" is the eternal frame of a human death; twice the Upaniṣad sets its knowledge into that frame, unashamed of repeating itself: at a deathbed, repetition is mercy.
"As long as he has not gone out, he knows": consciousness does not gutter out gradually into nothing; it gathers toward the exit. Where the exit leads will be decided in the next verse, and decided differently for the knower and the ignorant: one and the same door will prove to be both a gate and a barrier.