Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1,3.21
॥
Devanāgarī
एषः उ एव ब्रह्मणस्पतिः वाक् वै ब्रह्म तस्याः एषः पतिः तस्मात् उ ब्रह्मणस्पतिः
Transliteration (IAST)
eṣaḥ u eva brahmaṇaspatiḥ vāk vai brahma tasyāḥ eṣaḥ patiḥ tasmāt u brahmaṇaspatiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
उusurely; indeed
एवevaindeed; only
ब्रह्मणस्पतिःbrahmaṇaspatiḥBrahmaṇaspati (brahmaṇas-pati — 'lord of the sacred word'); Brahmaṇaspati; Brahmaṇaspati
वाक्vākspeech; the voice
वैvaitruly; indeed
ब्रह्मbrahmabrahman — the sacred word (brahman); the sacred speech; the brahman-word
तस्याःtasyāḥit; of her
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
पतिःpatiḥthe male; the husband
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
उusurely; indeed
ब्रह्मणस्पतिःbrahmaṇaspatiḥBrahmaṇaspati (brahmaṇas-pati — 'lord of the sacred word'); Brahmaṇaspati; Brahmaṇaspati
Translation
He is also Brahmaṇaspati: speech is brahman [the sacred word], and he is her lord; therefore he is Brahmaṇaspati.
Version
41e407deae97 · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:40:48 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second name is Brahmaṇaspati, "the lord of the brahman": here brahman is sacred speech, the Veda as a sounding power. And again the same logic: prayer lives by breath, so breath is its lord.
Behind this pair of names lies a quiet revolution: the two supreme priestly deities of the Ṛg-veda, Bṛhaspati and Brahmaṇaspati, are recognised in the prāṇa, that is, within the one who prays. The heaven of the liturgy is not above the priest's head — it is in his breast; the service is performed by the one who breathes in the server. One step remains — to learn by whose breath the breath itself breathes — and the great dialogues of this book will take it.