Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1,5.10
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् किञ्च अविज्ञातम् प्राणस्य तद् रूपम् प्राणः हि अविज्ञातः प्राणः एनम् तद् भूत्वा अवति
Transliteration (IAST)
yat kiñca avijñātam prāṇasya tad rūpam prāṇaḥ hi avijñātaḥ prāṇaḥ enam tad bhūtvā avati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatthat which; that which
किञ्चkiñcaanything; all that
अविज्ञातम्avijñātamthe unknown; the unknown
प्राणस्यprāṇasyaof the breath (prāṇa, gen.); of the prāṇa; the breaths
तद्tadthat; this
रूपम्rūpamthe form; a shape
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa; the vital breath
हिhiindeed; truly
अविज्ञातःavijñātaḥthe unknown (a-vijñāta); the unknown; the unknown
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa; the vital breath
एनम्enamit; of this
तद्tadthat; this
भूत्वाbhūtvāhaving become; having turned into
अवतिavatihe defends; sustains
Translation
Whatever is unknown is a form of the breath, for the breath is the unknown; having become that, it protects [the knower].
Version
a8a7d93805d6 · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:48:21 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third province is the unknown, and its form is the breath: prāṇo hy avijñātaḥ, "the breath is unknown". No one knows his own breathing to the bottom: it works before thought and deeper than word, a mystery living in one's own chest. All the unknown of the world is of the same stock as this nearest mystery.
And, wonderfully, "the unknown protects": not everything in us and in the world ought to be lit through — the unknown guards a man as night guards the eyes from being blinded. A humble consent to mystery is armour too; he who demands to know everything loses the protection of depth. So the triad of knowledge is complete: the word guards by what is understood, the mind by questioning, the breath by mystery.