Upanishads Subāla 9.4

Subāla UpaniṣadSubāla 9.4

1824 / 5877

Upanishads · Subāla 9.4

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Devanāgarī

जिह्वामेवाप्येति यो जिह्वामेवास्तमेति रसयितव्यमेवाप्येति यो रसयितव्यमेवास्तमेति वरुणमेवाप्येति यो वरुणमेवास्तमेति सौम्यामेवाप्येति यः सौम्यामेवास्तमेत्युदानमेवाप्येति य उदानमेवास्तमेति विज्ञानमेवाप्येति तदमृतमभयमशोकमनन्तनिर्बीजमेवाप्येतीति होवाच

Transliteration (IAST)

jihvāmevāpyeti yo jihvāmevāstameti rasayitavyamevāpyeti yo rasayitavyamevāstameti varuṇamevāpyeti yo varuṇamevāstameti saumyāmevāpyeti yaḥ saumyāmevāstametyudānamevāpyeti ya udānamevāstameti vijñānamevāpyeti tadamṛtamabhayamaśokamanantanirbījamevāpyetīti hovāca

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

जिह्वाम् एव अप्येतिjihvām eva apyetiinto the tongue it enters; to the tongue it withdraws

यः जिह्वाम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ jihvām eva astam etithat which sets in the tongue; what goes down in the tongue

रसयितव्यम् एव अप्येतिrasayitavyam eva apyetiinto the tasted it enters; to the tastable it withdraws

यः रसयितव्यम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ rasayitavyam eva astam etithat which sets in the tasted; what goes down in the tastable

वरुणम् एव अप्येतिvaruṇam eva apyetiinto Varuṇa it enters; to Varuṇa it withdraws

यः वरुणम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ varuṇam eva astam etithat which sets in Varuṇa; what goes down in Varuṇa

सौम्याम् एव अप्येतिsaumyām eva apyetiinto Saumyā it enters; to Saumyā it withdraws

यः सौम्याम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ saumyām eva astam etithat which sets in Saumyā; what goes down in Saumyā

उदानम् एव अप्येतिudānam eva apyetiinto the rising breath it enters; to udāna it withdraws

यः उदानम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ udānam eva astam etithat which sets in the rising breath; what goes down in udāna

विज्ञानम् एव अप्येतिvijñānam eva apyetiinto knowledge it enters; to cognition it withdraws

तत् अमृतम् अभयम्tat amṛtam abhayamthat immortal, fearless; it, deathless and unafraid

अशोकम् अनन्तम्aśokam anantamsorrowless, endless; without grief and without limit

निर्बीजम् एव अप्येतिnirbījam eva apyetiinto the seedless it enters; to the seedless it withdraws

इति ह उवाचiti ha uvācaso he said; so he spoke

Translation

Into the tongue enters that which sets in the tongue; into the tasted enters that which sets in the tasted; into Varuṇa enters that which sets in Varuṇa; into Saumyā enters that which sets in Saumyā; into the rising breath enters that which sets in it; into knowledge it enters; and into that immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless — into it it enters. So he said.

Commentary

The fourth step: the tongue, the tasted, Varuṇa, the channel Saumyā, the rising breath.

Saumyā means “lunar, gentle, mild” — from the name of Soma. And here it is joined with Varuṇa, lord of the waters, and with the tongue that takes taste. All three are of the realm of the moist and flowing; the combination has come out harmonious.

Udāna, “the rising breath”, is the one to which the śāstras ascribe speech and the soul's departure at the hour of death. It is named that into which taste sets.

Here something should be said of the very word vijñāna, with which every row ends. It means “discerning knowledge” — not consciousness in general, but the capacity to recognise what a thing is. And in this sense it truly is that into which everything sensory sets: a taste not recognised by the tongue remains nothing; recognised, it becomes knowledge and remains in it.

So this ladder describes not only the end of the world but the ordinary course of perception: everything we take with the senses sets, minute by minute, into knowledge.

Version

a3ad8676e5bd · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:12:03 AM UTC

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