तमः एव यस्य आयतनम् हृदयम् लोकः मनः ज्योतिः यः वै तं पुरुषम् विद्यात् सर्वस्यात्मनः परायणम् सः वै वेदिता स्यात् याज्ञवल्क्य वेद वा अहं तं पुरुषम् सर्वस्यात्मनः परायणम् यम् आत्थ यः एव अयम् छायामयः पुरुषः सः एषः वदैव शाकल्य तस्य का देवता इति मृत्युः इति ह उवाच
tamaḥ eva yasya āyatanam hṛdayam lokaḥ manaḥ jyotiḥ yaḥ vai taṃ puruṣam vidyāt sarvasyātmanaḥ parāyaṇam saḥ vai veditā syāt yājñavalkya veda vā ahaṃ taṃ puruṣam sarvasyātmanaḥ parāyaṇam yam āttha yaḥ eva ayam chāyāmayaḥ puruṣaḥ saḥ eṣaḥ vadaiva śākalya tasya kā devatā iti mṛtyuḥ iti ha uvāca
"He who knows that person whose dwelling is darkness, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, the final resort of every self — he is truly a knower, Yājñavalkya!" — "I know that person of whom you speak: he is the person made of shadow. Speak on, Śākalya: who is his deity?" And he named his deity.
cd2e7796ef04 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:06:37 AM UTC
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The fifth target is the shadow person, whose support is darkness: the double-shadow whom Ajātaśatru called death (2.1.12). Darkness too has its limit and its Ruler: even the shadow economy of the world stands under the same One.
The shape of the round does not change: Śākalya presents a person by his dwelling — Yājñavalkya identifies him instantly and carries the question higher: "who is his deity?" Every partial person of the world has its own summit, and a knower differs from a memoriser in knowing not only the tenants but the ladder of their subordination — up to the very roof, where the One is.