Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3,9.25
॥
Devanāgarī
अहल्लिकेति ह उवाच याज्ञवल्क्यः यत्र एतत् अन्यत्र अस्मत् मन्यासै यद् हि एतत् अन्यत्र अस्मत् स्यात् श्वानः वै एनत् अद्युः वयांसि वै एनत् विमथ्नीरन् इति
Transliteration (IAST)
ahalliketi ha uvāca yājñavalkyaḥ yatra etat anyatra asmat manyāsai yad hi etat anyatra asmat syāt śvānaḥ vai enat adyuḥ vayāṃsi vai enat vimathnīran iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहल्लिकेतिahalliketi'blockhead' (ahallika — a term of abuse); 'empty-head'; 'blockhead'
हhasurely; as is known
उवाचuvācahe said; he uttered
याज्ञवल्क्यःyājñavalkyaḥYājñavalkya; the sage Yājñavalkya
यत्रyatrawhere; when
एतत्etatthis; the present
अन्यत्रanyatraapart from; beyond
अस्मत्asmatfrom this; from here
मन्यासैmanyāsaiyou think (from √man, 2nd sg.); you suppose; you think
यद्yadwhen; that which
हिhiindeed; truly
एतत्etatthis; the present
अन्यत्रanyatraapart from; beyond
अस्मत्asmatfrom this; from here
स्यात्syātvery well; becomes
श्वानःśvānaḥdogs (śvan, pl.); the dogs; the hounds
वैvaitruly; indeed
एनत्enatthis; it
अद्युःadyuḥthey would eat (from √ad, optative pl.); they would devour; they would eat
वयांसिvayāṃsithe birds (vayas, pl.); the birds; the birds
वैvaitruly; indeed
एनत्enatthis; it
विमथ्नीरन्vimathnīranthey would tear apart (vi + √math, optative pl.); they would rend; they would peck apart
इतिitithus; how
Translation
"You blockhead!" said Yājñavalkya. "Do you fancy it is somewhere outside us? Were it outside us, the dogs would have eaten it, or the birds torn it to pieces!"
Version
697e9eb1cd4f · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:08:05 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A thunderclap of an answer: ahallika — "blockhead, phantom"! — the one time in the whole tournament that Yājñavalkya raises his voice. The question "on what is the heart?" assumed that the heart is a thing lying somewhere on a stand; and the sarcasm strikes at that thing-ness: "were it somewhere outside us, the dogs would have eaten it!"
The heart — hṛdayam, hṛdi ayam, "He is in the heart" (ChU 8.3.3) — is no organ on a shelf but the very centre of the living: it does not "lie" on anything, because it is that in which everything lies (five quarters of the sky have just been packed into it!). To ask "on what is the heart" is like asking which room the house is in. Behind such questions lies the very misunderstanding that already cost Gārgī a warning; but Gārgī heard — Śākalya will go on. Yājñavalkya's rudeness is a last outstretched hand: harshness is sometimes more merciful than politeness, if it can stop a man running toward a precipice.