Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2,1.16
॥
Devanāgarī
सः होवाच अजातशत्रुः यत्र एषः एतत् सुप्तः अभूत् यः एषः विज्ञानमयः पुरुषः क्व एषः तदा अभूत् कुतः एतत् आगात् इति तद् उ ह न मेने गार्ग्यः
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ hovāca ajātaśatruḥ yatra eṣaḥ etat suptaḥ abhūt yaḥ eṣaḥ vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ kva eṣaḥ tadā abhūt kutaḥ etat āgāt iti tad u ha na mene gārgyaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
होवाचhovācahe said; He spoke
अजातशत्रुःajātaśatruḥAjātaśatru; king Ajātaśatru
यत्रyatrawhere; when
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
एतत्etatthis; the present
सुप्तःsuptaḥhe was asleep (supta); the sleeper; he slept
अभूत्abhūtwas; he was
यःyaḥwho; the one who
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
विज्ञानमयःvijñānamayaḥconsisting of consciousness (vijñāna-maya); made of consciousness; composed of consciousness
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥthe puruṣa; the person; the indweller
क्वkvawhere (kva); where; where
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
तदाtadāthen; at that time
अभूत्abhūtwas; he was
कुतःkutaḥwhence; how
एतत्etatthis; the present
आगात्āgāthe came back (aorist of ā + √gam); went; returned
इतिitithus; how
तद्tadthat; this
उusurely; indeed
हhasurely; as is known
नnanot; no
मेनेmenehe understood (from √man, perf.; na mene — 'did not grasp'); he has realised; he understood
गार्ग्यःgārgyaḥGārgya; the descendant of Garga
Translation
Ajātaśatru asked: "When this man was sleeping thus, where then was that person who consists of consciousness? And whence did he come back?" And this Gārgya did not know.
Version
2805c60fb34d · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:52:10 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Out of the experiment comes the question for whose sake it was all done: where during sleep was the vijñānamayaḥ puruṣaḥ, "the person who consists of consciousness"? Someone, after all, did not hear the royal titles — and did hear the touch; where did he go, and whence did he return? For the first time in the conversation the real subject is named: not the person in the sun or in the mirror, but the conscious one in the man — the one by whom all the other persons are noticed at all.
"And this Gārgya did not know" — twelve definitions of Brahman in stock, and where his own consciousness spends the night is beyond him. Here is the diagnosis of all mere erudition: to know the composition of the universe and not to know where you go every night. The king's question is the one that guided the Chāndogya (6.8: "where does the sleeper go?") and will guide Gārgya further: true theology begins not with the luminaries but with the mystery asleep in one's own breast.