Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 4,4.16
॥
Devanāgarī
यस्मात् अर्वाक् संवत्सरः अहोभिः परिवर्तते तद् देवाः ज्योतिषां ज्योतिर् आयुः ह उपासते अमृतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yasmāt arvāk saṃvatsaraḥ ahobhiḥ parivartate tad devāḥ jyotiṣāṃ jyotir āyuḥ ha upāsate amṛtam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्मात्yasmātthanks to which; from what
अर्वाक्arvākbelow him (arvāk — 'lower'); lower; beneath him
संवत्सरःsaṃvatsaraḥa year (saṁvatsara); a year; a year
अहोभिःahobhiḥwith the days (ahan, instr. pl.); by the days; with the days
परिवर्ततेparivartateit rolls round (pari + √vṛt); it revolves; it rolls
तद्tadthat; this
देवाःdevāḥthe gods; divine powers
ज्योतिषांjyotiṣāṃof the lights (jyotis, genitive plural); of the lights; of the lights
ज्योतिर्jyotirlight (jyotis); the light; the light
आयुःāyuḥlife (āyus); the span of life; life
हhasurely; as is known
उपासतेupāsatethey worship; they contemplate
अमृतम्amṛtamimmortal; nectarean
Translation
Below him the year rolls on with its days; him the gods venerate as the light of lights, as immortal life.
Version
cddd680802d0 · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:17:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The hymn to the Lord goes on: "below him the year rolls on with its days" — time turns beneath Him as a wheel beneath an axle (we heard that sovereign praśāsana in Gārgī's teaching: at His command the moments and the years stand fast, 3.8.9). And a title that entered all the prayers of Vedānta: jyotiṣāṁ jyotiḥ — "the Light of lights": the very thing by which all the lights of Janaka's ladder shine — sun, moon, fire, speech and the ātman-light itself.
"The gods venerate Him" — the celestials themselves are His worshippers; āyur amṛtam — "immortal life": He is the life of life (prāṇasya prāṇaḥ, as 4.4.18 will say in a verse or two). The Gītā will inherit the title verbatim: jyotiṣām api taj jyotiḥ (BG 13.17).