Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2,4.9
॥
Devanāgarī
सः यथा वीणायै वाद्यमानायै न बाह्यान् शब्दान् शक्नुयात् ग्रहणाय वीणायै तु ग्रहणेन वीणावादस्य वा शब्दः गृहीतः
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ yathā vīṇāyai vādyamānāyai na bāhyān śabdān śaknuyāt grahaṇāya vīṇāyai tu grahaṇena vīṇāvādasya vā śabdaḥ gṛhītaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
यथाyathāhow; as far as
वीणायैvīṇāyaiof a vīṇā (vīṇā, gen.); of the vīṇā lute; of the vīṇā
वाद्यमानायैvādyamānāyaiwhen it is played (passive participle of √vad, causative); being sounded; when it is played
नnanot; no
बाह्यान्bāhyānthe outward; the external
शब्दान्śabdānof speech; sounds
शक्नुयात्śaknuyāthe would be able; he would be capable
ग्रहणायgrahaṇāyafor the grasping; for the perceiving
वीणायैvīṇāyaiof a vīṇā (vīṇā, gen.); of the vīṇā lute; of the vīṇā
तुtusurely; but
ग्रहणेनgrahaṇenaby grasping; by taking hold
वीणावादस्यvīṇāvādasyaof the vīṇā-player (vīṇā-vāda, gen.); of the lutanist; of the one who plays the vīṇā
वाvātruly; surely
शब्दःśabdaḥsound; the sounding
गृहीतःgṛhītaḥis grasped; is caught
Translation
as, when a vīṇā is played, one cannot catch the outward sounds one by one, but by catching the vīṇā, or the player of the vīṇā, the sound too is caught; —
Version
d4ab46423bfb · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:54:37 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third parable is the vīṇā, the lute: a melody is not to be caught note by note, but the whole of it is in the instrument and in the player's fingers. The three images are ranged as a ladder of nobility in sound: the thunder of the drum, the call of the conch, the song of the strings — the whole sounding world from din to music.
The vīṇā is the instrument of Nārada and Sarasvatī, the voice of wisdom itself. And the conclusion of the triad is one: all the music of the world has a Musician; phenomena are His playing on the strings of nature. He who has "caught" the Player — by love, by attention, by giving himself over — owns all the melodies at once: he listens to the world from the Musician's hands.