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Upanishads · Hayagrīva 2.p7
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रज्ञानमानन्दं ब्रह्म तत्त्वमसि अयमात्मा ब्रह्म अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति महावाक्यैः प्रतिपादितमर्थं त एते मन्त्राः प्रतिपादयन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
prajñānamānandaṃ brahma tattvamasi ayamātmā brahma ahaṃ brahmāsmīti mahāvākyaiḥ pratipāditamarthaṃ ta ete mantrāḥ pratipādayanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रज्ञानम् आनन्दं ब्रह्मprajñānam ānandaṃ brahma"understanding is bliss, brahman"
तत् त्वम् असिtat tvam asi"that thou art"
अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्मayam ātmā brahma"this self is brahman"
अहं ब्रह्म अस्मि इतिahaṃ brahma asmi iti"I am brahman"
महा-वाक्यैःmahā-vākyaiḥby the great sayings
प्रतिपादितम् अर्थंpratipāditam arthaṃthe meaning set forth
ते एते मन्त्राःte ete mantrāḥthese very mantras
प्रतिपादयन्तिpratipādayantiset forth
Translation
«The meaning set forth by the great sayings — "understanding is bliss, brahman," "that thou art," "this self is brahman," "I am brahman" — these very mantras set forth as well».
Version
a51af953a3f5 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Here is a passage for whose sake this book is worth reading slowly, for in it the four great sayings are directly equated with the mantras of Hayagrīva. The mahā-vākyas were discussed in detail reading the Mahāvākya Upaniṣad, and there is no need to repeat their analysis; let us repeat only that there are four of them — one for each Veda. Note that here their meaning is called the same as the meaning of mantras addressed to a person with a name and a form.
This detail is, to my mind, the strongest argument the Vaiṣṇava side has among all we have met in this collection, and it is worth stating in full. The great sayings are usually cited as proof that the Highest is impersonal: “I am brahman,” “that thou art” — and no person in sight. Here they are cited by a book that has a person, named by name and described with a conch, a discus, and a book in hand.
And it says: this is one and the same thing. So either it is mistaken, or the great sayings do not, by themselves, prove impersonality — but receive their content from the context in which they stand. The Vaiṣṇava side holds the second, and its analysis was cited reading the Mahāvākya and Gaṇapati (1.1): every one of the four sayings stands within a story, each has a speaker and a listener, and each has a continuation.
Add, too, what it draws directly from the passage here: if the mantra of Hayagrīva sets forth the meaning of the sayings, then their meaning is a relationship, not an identity; for this mantra is an address, and can be nothing else. And add one more thing: the first of the four is given here in a rare fullness — prajñānam ānandaṃ brahma, “understanding is bliss, brahman”; in the Aitareya it stands simply as prajñānam brahma, and the addition “bliss” is already a positive determination.