अथ कर्मणाम् आत्मा इति एतत् एषाम् उक्थम् अतः हि सर्वाणि कर्माणि उत्तिष्ठन्ति एतत् एषाम् साम एतत् हि सर्वैः कर्मभिः समम् एतत् एषाम् ब्रह्म एतत् हि सर्वाणि कर्माणि बिभर्ति तद् एतत् त्रयं सद् एकम् अयम् आत्मा आत्मा एकः सन् एतत् त्रयम् तद् एतत् अमृतम् सत्येन छन्नम् प्राणः वा अमृतम् नामरूपे सत्यम् ताभ्याम् अयम् प्राणः छन्नः
atha karmaṇām ātmā iti etat eṣām uktham ataḥ hi sarvāṇi karmāṇi uttiṣṭhanti etat eṣām sāma etat hi sarvaiḥ karmabhiḥ samam etat eṣām brahma etat hi sarvāṇi karmāṇi bibharti tad etat trayaṃ sad ekam ayam ātmā ātmā ekaḥ san etat trayam tad etat amṛtam satyena channam prāṇaḥ vā amṛtam nāmarūpe satyam tābhyām ayam prāṇaḥ channaḥ
Of works, the self is their uktha, for from it all works arise; it is their sāman, for it is equal to all works; it is their Brahman, for it bears all works. This threefold is one: this ātman; and the ātman, being one, is this threefold. This is the immortal, covered by the true: the breath is the immortal, name and form are the true; by them this breath is covered.
04e157318d83 · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:49:47 AM UTC
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The third dimension is works, and their source is the ātman itself: all actions arise from the self, are equal to it and are borne by it. A deed is not a man's outward trace but the man himself in the state of acting; that is why the essence is known by the deeds.
And then the final chord of the whole first adhyāya, a verse that is a seal: "this threefold is one: the ātman; and the ātman, being one, is this threefold". The world of name-form-work and its Bearer are neither two apart nor one without distinction: the One lives as a trinity of manifestation, the trinity is held by the One. And the last formula is struck like a coin: tad etad amṛtaṁ satyena channam — "the immortal, covered by the true": the breath (life, the ātman) is immortal; name and form are satya, actuality — but an actuality that is a covering: true, not illusory, and yet a garment.
So the book of beginnings closes its circle: from the horse-cosmos and the creating Death to the ātman clothed in name and form. The covering is not called a lie but the truth: the world deserves reverence as a vestment does, for the sake of Him who wears it. Next the Upaniṣad will begin to draw the covering aside, in conversations that have no equal in the Veda: "not for the husband's sake is a husband dear…" is already close.