Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 6,4.8
॥
Devanāgarī
सा चेद् अस्मै दद्यात् इन्द्रियेण ते यशसा यशः आदधामि इति यशस्विनाव् एव भवतः
Transliteration (IAST)
sā ced asmai dadyāt indriyeṇa te yaśasā yaśaḥ ādadhāmi iti yaśasvināv eva bhavataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
साsāshe; that one
चेद्cedif; when
अस्मैasmaito him; for him
दद्यात्dadyātshe would give herself; she would consent
इन्द्रियेणindriyeṇawith the power of the senses; with the faculty
तेteto you; your
यशसाyaśasāwith fame; by the radiance
यशःyaśaḥglory; the radiance
आदधामिādadhāmiI place (ā + √dhā); I put in; I place
इतिitithus; how
यशस्विनाव्yaśasvināvboth glorious (yaśasvin, dual); the two glorious ones; both glorious
एवevaindeed; only
भवतःbhavataḥthey become (from √bhū, dual); they become; become
Translation
But if she consents to him, [let him say]: "By strength and by glory I place glory in you" — and both of them become glorious.
Version
fc61e2e0252c · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:28:05 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The bright counterpart of the dark verse — and the measure by which everything is set right: with consent the words are reversed: "I place glory in you" (yaśa ādadhāmi), and the result: yaśasvināv eva bhavataḥ — "both of them become glorious"!
The dual number of that "both" is the quiet summit of the whole marital science of the Upaniṣad: in a union of consent glory is not tugged away but doubled. One word of the mantra — "I take" or "I place" — divides two worlds: union-as-seizure and union-as-gift; and the Upaniṣad, having shown both, left its blessing on the second.