Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अस्तमिते आदित्ये याज्ञवल्क्य चन्द्रमस्य् अस्तमिते शान्ते अग्नौ शान्तायाम् वाचि किंज्योतिः एव अयं पुरुषः इति आत्मैवास्य ज्योतिर् भवति इति आत्मनैवायं ज्योतिषास्ते पल्ययते कर्म कुरुते विपल्येति इति
Transliteration (IAST)
astamite āditye yājñavalkya candramasy astamite śānte agnau śāntāyām vāci kiṃjyotiḥ eva ayaṃ puruṣaḥ iti ātmaivāsya jyotir bhavati iti ātmanaivāyaṃ jyotiṣāste palyayate karma kurute vipalyeti iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अस्तमितेastamitehaving set; when it has disappeared
आदित्येādityethe sun; with the sun
याज्ञवल्क्यyājñavalkyaYājñavalkya; O Yājñavalkya
चन्द्रमस्य्candramasythe moon; with the moon
अस्तमितेastamitehaving set; when it has disappeared
शान्तेśānteextinguished; stilled
अग्नौagnauin the fire; upon fire
शान्तायाम्śāntāyāmwhen it has fallen silent (śāntā, loc.); after it has ceased; when it has fallen silent
वाचिvāciof speech; in the voice
किंज्योतिःkiṃjyotiḥwhat light; having what for his light
एवevaindeed; only
अयंayaṃthis; this man
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥthe puruṣa; the person; the indweller
इतिitithus; how
आत्मैवास्यātmaivāsyathe ātman is his (ātmā eva asya); his very ātman; his ātman
ज्योतिर्jyotirthe light (jyotis); the luminary; by light
भवतिbhavatibecomes; he presents himself
इतिitithus; how
आत्मनैवायंātmanaivāyaṃby the self alone does he; by the light of the self he
ज्योतिषास्तेjyotiṣāstehe abides by that light; he sits with that for illumination
पल्ययतेpalyayatemoves; he walks about
कर्मkarmawork; action
कुरुतेkurutemakes; he performs
विपल्येतिvipalyetihe returns; he comes back
इतिitithus; how
Translation
"And when the sun has set, the moon has set, the fire has gone out and speech has fallen silent, by what light does this man live?" — "The ātman becomes his light: by the light of the ātman he sits, goes out, works and returns."
Version
4795d377a08b · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:11:14 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
All the lights are out: sun, moon, fire, voice — the darkness and the silence are complete. And the answer sounds for whose sake the ladder was built: ātmaivāsya jyotir bhavati — "the ātman becomes his light". In dreamless sleep, in shut darkness, in the moment between sounds, a man does not fall into nothing: he sees the darkness, hears the silence, knows his own not-knowing — by what? By a light that does not set, does not go out and does not fall silent, because it is not outside.
Svayaṁ-jyoti, the self-luminosity of the ātman, is the discovery of this conversation, and it has entered every school of Vedānta: consciousness is lit by nothing — by it everything is lit; all other lights are only objects of its seeing. "There the sun does not shine, nor the moon, nor fire — all shines by His shining" (Kaṭha 2.2.15; BG 15.6) — a hymn that grows out of this answer. And for bhakti here is the root of worship: the light by which you see the darkness is not of your own making but the presence in you of the Shining One; a man's last lamp is God within him.