Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,3.18
॥
Devanāgarī
तद् यथा महामत्स्यः उभे कूले अनुसंचरति पूर्वं चापरं च एवम् एव अयं पुरुषः एताव् उभाव् अन्ताव् अनुसंचरति स्वप्नान्तं च बुद्धान्तं च
Transliteration (IAST)
tad yathā mahāmatsyaḥ ubhe kūle anusaṃcarati pūrvaṃ cāparaṃ ca evam eva ayaṃ puruṣaḥ etāv ubhāv antāv anusaṃcarati svapnāntaṃ ca buddhāntaṃ ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तद्tadthat; this
यथाyathāhow; as far as
महामत्स्यःmahāmatsyaḥa great fish (mahā-matsya); a great fish; a big fish
उभेubheboth; the two
कूलेkūlethe bank (kūla, loc.); by the bank; of the bank
अनुसंचरतिanusaṃcaratiit swims along (anu-sam + √car); it moves to and fro along; it goes along
पूर्वंpūrvaṃthe former; the front one
चापरंcāparaṃand the latter; and the other
चcaand; as well as
एवम्evamthus; in this way
एवevaindeed; only
अयंayaṃthis; this man
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥthe puruṣa; the person; the indweller
एताव्etāvthese two; both these
उभाव्ubhāvboth; the two
अन्ताव्antāvthe two bounds (anta, acc. dual); the two bounds; the ends
अनुसंचरतिanusaṃcaratiit swims along (anu-sam + √car); it moves to and fro along; it goes along
स्वप्नान्तंsvapnāntaṃthe bound of dream; the state of dreaming
चcaand; as well as
बुद्धान्तंbuddhāntaṃthe bound of waking; the waking state
चcaand; as well as
Translation
As a great fish moves along both banks, the near and the far, so this person moves along both these limits: the limit of dream and the limit of waking.
Version
2d7f418268ff · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:12:39 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
An image that gathers up the whole section: the mahāmatsya, the great fish, moves along both banks of the river — belonging to neither. The banks are dream and waking; the fish is the person; his element is not the bank but the water: the flowing life of consciousness itself, for which waking and dream are only edges.
The image removes an age-old prejudice: we take waking for "our own bank" and dream for an absence. The fish knows that home is the river, not the bank. Whoever has recognised the great fish in himself will see death too as a splash by a third bank — not as being hauled out of the water.