Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3,9.27
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ ह उवाच ब्राह्मणाः भगवन्तः यः वः कामयते सः मा पृच्छतु सर्वे वा मा पृच्छत यः वः कामयते तं वः पृच्छामि सर्वान् वा वः पृच्छामि इति ते ह ब्राह्मणाः न दधृषुः
Transliteration (IAST)
atha ha uvāca brāhmaṇāḥ bhagavantaḥ yaḥ vaḥ kāmayate saḥ mā pṛcchatu sarve vā mā pṛcchata yaḥ vaḥ kāmayate taṃ vaḥ pṛcchāmi sarvān vā vaḥ pṛcchāmi iti te ha brāhmaṇāḥ na dadhṛṣuḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; further
हhasurely; as is known
उवाचuvācahe said; he uttered
ब्राह्मणाःbrāhmaṇāḥbrāhmaṇas; the knowers of the sacred
भगवन्तःbhagavantaḥvenerable sirs; esteemed sirs
यःyaḥwho; the one who
वःvaḥof you; to you
कामयतेkāmayatedesires (from √kam); wants; desires
सःsaḥhe; that one
माmānot; no need
पृच्छतुpṛcchatulet him ask (from √prach, imperative); let him ask; let him ask
सर्वेsarveall; the whole aggregate
वाvātruly; surely
माmānot; no need
पृच्छतpṛcchataask; question me
यःyaḥwho; the one who
वःvaḥof you; to you
कामयतेkāmayatedesires (from √kam); wants; desires
तंtaṃthat one; it
वःvaḥof you; to you
पृच्छामिpṛcchāmiI ask; I enquire
सर्वान्sarvānall; of everyone
वाvātruly; surely
वःvaḥof you; to you
पृच्छामिpṛcchāmiI ask; I enquire
इतिitithus; how
तेtethose; these
हhasurely; as is known
ब्राह्मणाःbrāhmaṇāḥbrāhmaṇas; the knowers of the sacred
नnanot; no
दधृषुःdadhṛṣuḥthey dared (from √dhṛṣ, perf.; na dadhṛṣuḥ); they ventured; they dared
Translation
Then he said: "Reverend brāhmaṇas! Let whoever wishes question me, or question me all together. Whichever of you I wish, I shall question, or I shall question you all." And the brāhmaṇas did not dare.
Version
f646394b1cc5 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:08:05 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
After Śākalya's fall comes an open challenge to the whole assembly: question me one by one or in chorus; and the counter-right — "I shall question". The response is described in the same words as at the start of the tournament (3.1.2): na dadhṛṣuḥ — "they did not dare". The circle has closed: then they did not dare to take the cows, now they do not dare to open their mouths.
The assembly's silence is not cowardice only: it is, at last, honesty. The night has shown the price of questions and the price of answers; whoever has understood keeps silent not from fear but from measure. Yājñavalkya is left alone on the field — and, with a victor's nobility, will fill the silence himself: not with triumph but with a riddle in verse about a tree and a man, addressed no longer to rivals but to the truth.