Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3,7.3
॥
Devanāgarī
यः पृथिव्यां तिष्ठन् पृथिव्या अन्तरो यं पृथिवी न वेद यस्य पृथिवी शरीरं यः पृथिवीम् अन्तरो यमयति एषः ते आत्मा अन्तर्यामी अमृतः
Transliteration (IAST)
yaḥ pṛthivyāṃ tiṣṭhan pṛthivyā antaro yaṃ pṛthivī na veda yasya pṛthivī śarīraṃ yaḥ pṛthivīm antaro yamayati eṣaḥ te ātmā antaryāmī amṛtaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यःyaḥwho; the one who
पृथिव्यांpṛthivyāṃin the earth; on the earth
तिष्ठन्tiṣṭhanabiding (from √sthā, participle); standing still; abiding
पृथिव्याpṛthivyāof land; from the earth
अन्तरोantarowithin (antara); inner; within
यंyaṃwhom; by which
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth; the earthly world
नnanot; no
वेदvedahe knows (from √vid; na veda); is aware of; knows
यस्यyasyawhose; in whose case
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth; the earthly world
शरीरंśarīraṃthe body (śarīra); body; body
यःyaḥwho; the one who
पृथिवीम्pṛthivīmby the earth; the earth
अन्तरोantarowithin (antara); inner; within
यमयतिyamayatihe rules (from √yam, causative — 'holds in check'); he governs; he governs
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
तेtethose; these
आत्माātmāthe self; the ātman
अन्तर्यामीantaryāmīthe Inner Ruler (antar-yāmin); the antaryāmin; the Inner Ruler
अमृतःamṛtaḥthe immortal (a-mṛta); imperishable; immortal
Translation
"He who, dwelling in the earth, is within the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body is the earth, who rules the earth from within — he is your ātman, the Inner Ruler, the immortal.
Version
de1aad38e5c3 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:01:54 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The antaryāmin-brāhmaṇa begins — a formula that will sound twenty-one times, changing only the place: yaḥ pṛthivyāṁ tiṣṭhan pṛthivyā antaraḥ — "who, dwelling in the earth, is within the earth"; yaṁ pṛthivī na veda — "whom the earth does not know"; yasya pṛthivī śarīram — "whose body is the earth"; yaḥ pṛthivīm antaro yamayati — "who rules the earth from within": eṣa ta ātmāntaryāmy amṛtaḥ — "he is your ātman, the Inner Ruler, the immortal".
Every member of the formula is a doctrine. "Dwelling in… within": He is immanent without remainder. "Whom … does not know": immanence does not make Him known — He is hidden in the very nearest. "Whose body is …": the whole thing entire is His vesture and instrument; so is born the great theology of "the world as the body of God", on which Rāmānuja will build viśiṣṭādvaita and Gauḍīya Vedānta its doctrine of the Paramātmā. "Rules from within": not an observer but a Sovereign; yamayati — he holds in rein, he directs.
And thrice precious is the word "your": eṣa te ātmā — the Inner Ruler of the earth is no alien cosmic official but your own ātman: the very One who rules you too from within. The first body named is the dust of the earth — the crowning of the All-ruler begins at the very bottom.