Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,3.11
॥
Devanāgarī
तद् एते श्लोकाः भवन्ति स्वप्नेन शारीरम् अभिप्रहत्यासुप्तः सुप्तान् अभिचाकशीति शुक्रम् आदाय पुनर् ऐति स्थानं हिरण्मयः पुरुषः एकहंसः
Transliteration (IAST)
tad ete ślokāḥ bhavanti svapnena śārīram abhiprahatyāsuptaḥ suptān abhicākaśīti śukram ādāya punar aiti sthānaṃ hiraṇmayaḥ puruṣaḥ ekahaṃsaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तद्tadthat; this
एतेetethese; the following
श्लोकाःślokāḥthe verses; the stanzas
भवन्तिbhavantibecome; are
स्वप्नेनsvapnenaby sleep; by means of sleep
शारीरम्śārīramthe bodily (śārīra); the bodily; the bodily
अभिप्रहत्यासुप्तःabhiprahatyāsuptaḥhaving struck it down, sleepless (abhiprahatya + asuptaḥ); having put it aside, unsleeping; having cast it off, sleepless
सुप्तान्suptānupon the sleeping (supta, acc. pl.); the sleepers; upon the sleepers
अभिचाकशीतिabhicākaśītihe gazes (intensive of abhi + √kāś); he surveys; he gazes
शुक्रम्śukramthe bright substance (śukra); the luminous essence; the bright
आदायādāyahaving taken; having taken out
पुनर्punaragain; back
ऐतिaitigoes; he returns
स्थानंsthānaṃthe place; the state
हिरण्मयःhiraṇmayaḥgolden (hiraṇ-maya); the golden one; golden
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥthe puruṣa; the person; the indweller
एकहंसःekahaṃsaḥthe solitary swan (eka-haṁsa); the one haṁsa; the lone swan
Translation
On this there are verses: "Having thrown off the bodily by sleep, sleepless he looks down on the sleeping. Taking the bright substance, the golden person returns to his place — the lone swan.
Version
b4335cd38525 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:11:14 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verses about the dreamer begin, and the first image is dazzling: "having thrown off the bodily by sleep, sleepless (asuptaḥ!) he looks down on the sleeping". While the body and the senses sleep, the Shining One does not sleep: he looks upon his own slumbering retinue. The sleeplessness of the ātman is the eternal wakefulness of the witness, to whom sleep is subject but not native.
And the titles: hiraṇmayaḥ puruṣaḥ — "the golden person" (the same golden one as in the sun, ChU 1.6!) and ekahaṁsaḥ — "the lone swan": a free bird flying between the nest of the body and the open spaces, sticking nowhere (the haṁsa is an image both of the soul and of the Lord: ChU 4.7). "Taking the bright substance" of the waking world, he flies off to build dreams — and returns: a royal migratory bird in a cage that is not locked.