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Upanishads · Bahvṛcā 7
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्मेति वा अहं ब्रह्मास्मीति वा भाष्यते । तत्त्वमसीत्येव संभाष्यते । अयमात्मा ब्रह्मेति वा ब्रह्मैवाहमस्मीति वा
Transliteration (IAST)
prajñānaṃ brahmeti vā ahaṃ brahmāsmīti vā bhāṣyate | tattvamasītyeva saṃbhāṣyate | ayamātmā brahmeti vā brahmaivāhamasmīti vā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म इति वाprajñānaṃ brahma iti vā“knowledge is brahman”
अहं ब्रह्म अस्मि इति वाahaṃ brahma asmi iti vāor “I am brahman”
भाष्यतेbhāṣyateis said
तत् त्वम् असि इति एवtat tvam asi iti eva“that thou art” — thus
संभाष्यतेsaṃbhāṣyateis proclaimed
अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म इति वाayam ātmā brahma iti vāor “this self is brahman”
ब्रह्म एव अहं अस्मिbrahma eva ahaṃ asmi“brahman indeed am I”
इति वाiti vāor
Translation
«It is said both “knowledge is brahman” and “I am brahman”; it is proclaimed “that thou art”; or “this self is brahman,” or “brahman indeed am I”».
Version
26d568e79d9e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The four great sayings are given here, the third time in these last books: they stood in Hayagrīva (2.p7) and will stand in the Muktikā. Their analysis was given reading Mahāvākya, and there is no need to repeat it in full; let us repeat only what belongs here. Note the phrase: iti vā... iti vā, “or... or.”
That is, the four sayings are given as equivalent: it is said thus, or thus, or thus. This detail shows how they were read in this school: as four ways of saying one thing. The Vaiṣṇava reading has been given more than once, and it is worth repeating, for this is its last occurrence here.
Each of the four stands within a narrative: each has a speaker and a hearer, and each has a sequel. Tat tvam asi is said by a father to his son and repeated nine times, each time with a new comparison — and every comparison speaks of the relation of source and outcome, not of identity; the seed of the banyan was discussed reading Dattātreya (1.3). Ahaṃ brahmāsmi is said not about oneself but as a description of what has been revealed, and stands in the story of Vāmadeva, who at once adds “I was Manu, I was the sun” — that is, he speaks of a succession of births, not of an eternal identity.
And, most importantly, as we noted reading Hayagrīva (2.p7): the same four sayings are given there as expressing the same sense as mantras addressed to a person with a name and form. So by themselves they do not prove impersonality; they take their content from the place in which they stand.