Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1,3.15
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ श्रोत्रम् अत्यवहत् तद् यदा मृत्युम् अत्यमुच्यत ताः दिशः अभवन् ताः इमाः दिशः परेण मृत्युम् अतिक्रान्ताः
Transliteration (IAST)
atha śrotram atyavahat tad yadā mṛtyum atyamucyata tāḥ diśaḥ abhavan tāḥ imāḥ diśaḥ pareṇa mṛtyum atikrāntāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; further
श्रोत्रम्śrotramthe ear; the organ of hearing
अत्यवहत्atyavahathe carried beyond; he led across
तद्tadthat; this
यदाyadāwhen; at the moment when
मृत्युम्mṛtyumdeath; dying
अत्यमुच्यतatyamucyatashe was freed beyond; she passed beyond death
ताःtāḥof them; those
दिशःdiśaḥthe quarters of space (diś, pl.); the directions; the quarters of the sky
अभवन्abhavanbecame (from √bhū, pl.); they became; they became
ताःtāḥof them; those
इमाःimāḥthese; these here
दिशःdiśaḥthe quarters of space (diś, pl.); the directions; the quarters of the sky
परेणpareṇaon the far side; beyond
मृत्युम्mṛtyumdeath; dying
अतिक्रान्ताःatikrāntāḥthose who have passed over; those who have surpassed
Translation
Then it carried hearing beyond. When it was released from death, it became the quarters of space. These quarters have passed beyond death.
Version
0cfd2cf09b04 · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:40:48 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fourth transfiguration is hearing into the quarters of space: the diśas, the directions — a cosmic ear that takes in sound from everywhere; what is heard comes from every side, and so rescued hearing becomes all-sidedness itself.
Notably, the quarters have no verb of action — they simply "passed beyond": an expanse does not act, it contains. Such too is purified hearing: it does not snatch, does not pick out the dainty morsel (that was precisely its wound) but contains, like the regions of the sky — open to all and captured by nothing.