Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,3.28
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् वै तत् न मनुते मन्वानो वै तत् न मनुते न हि मन्तुर् मतेर् विपरिलोपो विद्यते अविनाशित्वात् न तु तत् द्वितीयम् अस्ति ततो अन्यद् विभक्तं यत् मन्वीत
Transliteration (IAST)
yat vai tat na manute manvāno vai tat na manute na hi mantur mater viparilopo vidyate avināśitvāt na tu tat dvitīyam asti tato anyad vibhaktaṃ yat manvīta
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatthat which; that which
वैvaitruly; indeed
तत्tatthat; this
नnanot; no
मनुतेmanutethinks; he thinks
मन्वानोmanvānothe thinker; reflecting
वैvaitruly; indeed
तत्tatthat; this
नnanot; no
मनुतेmanutethinks; he thinks
नnanot; no
हिhiindeed; truly
मन्तुर्manturof one who thinks; of the one who thinks
मतेर्materthoughts; of thinking
विपरिलोपोviparilopoextinction; loss
विद्यतेvidyateexists; is to be found
अविनाशित्वात्avināśitvātbecause of indestructibility; since it is not destroyed
नnanot; no
तुtusurely; but
तत्tatthat; this
द्वितीयम्dvitīyama second thing; another
अस्तिastiam; exists
ततोtatofor that reason; from him
अन्यद्anyadanother; other
विभक्तंvibhaktaṃsomething separate; something divided
यत्yatthat which; that which
मन्वीतmanvītahe might think; he would think
Translation
If [there] he does not think — then, thinking, he does not think: for there is no destruction of that power in the thinker, since he is indestructible; but there is no second, nothing else, separate, that might be its object.
Version
23fe42929650 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:13:54 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The sixth beat: thought. "Thinking, he does not think": the thoughtlessness of deep sleep is not the absence of a thinker but the absence of a second to think about; the lamp of the mind does not go out — the objects do.
Beat by beat it is one casting: the faculty is indestructible (avināśitvāt), and only the "second" — the separate object — has disappeared. The depth does not take away powers; it takes away separateness, and in this the repose of the ātman differs from any swoon: there the light goes out, here only the boundaries do.