Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,3.38
॥
Devanāgarī
तद् यथा राजानं प्रयियासन्तम् उग्राः प्रत्येनसः सूतग्रामण्यः अभिसमायन्ति एवम् एव इमम् आत्मानम् अन्तकाले सर्वे प्राणाः अभिसमायन्ति यत्र एतद् ऊर्ध्वोच्छ्वासी भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
tad yathā rājānaṃ prayiyāsantam ugrāḥ pratyenasaḥ sūtagrāmaṇyaḥ abhisamāyanti evam eva imam ātmānam antakāle sarve prāṇāḥ abhisamāyanti yatra etad ūrdhvocchvāsī bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तद्tadthat; this
यथाyathāhow; as far as
राजानंrājānaṃof the king; of the ruler
प्रयियासन्तम्prayiyāsantamabout to set out (desiderative participle of pra + √yā); ready to depart; departing
उग्राःugrāḥthe nobles; the men of power
प्रत्येनसःpratyenasaḥthe guards; the attendants
सूतग्रामण्यःsūtagrāmaṇyaḥthe charioteers and headmen; the sūtas and village chiefs
अभिसमायन्तिabhisamāyantithey gather (abhi-sam + √i); they come together; they assemble
एवम्evamthus; in this way
एवevaindeed; only
इमम्imamof this; of this
आत्मानम्ātmānamthe self; the inner Self
अन्तकालेantakāleat the hour of the end (anta-kāla, loc.); at his death; at the hour of the end
सर्वेsarveall; the whole aggregate
प्राणाःprāṇāḥof the prāṇa; the vital breaths
अभिसमायन्तिabhisamāyantithey gather (abhi-sam + √i); they come together; they assemble
यत्रyatrawhere; when
एतद्etadthis; the present
ऊर्ध्वोच्छ्वासीūrdhvocchvāsībreathing upward; with the breath rising
भवतिbhavatibecomes; he presents himself
Translation
And as, when a king is about to depart, the nobles, the officers, the charioteers and the village heads gather about him, so at the hour of the end all the breaths gather about this self, when the breath is on its way out.
Version
c40a1e465d05 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:15:25 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The companion image is the king's departure: the retinue closes in around the sovereign who is ready to set out. So "at the hour of the end" (antakāle) the breaths gather to the self: that very drawing-in of a dying man's powers which Ārtabhāga saw (3.2.11 — "they are gathered in him") and which the next brāhmaṇa will describe.
Dying is given as the mustering of a royal train: not one breath runs away — all report to court, for the road with their Lord. The two royal images, the arrival and the departure, hold death from both sides: from here a solemn escorting of the powers, over there a welcome by the worlds. Between them there is no gap for terror — only a stage of the journey.