Upanishads · Subāla 10.2
॥
Devanāgarī
एवमेतान् लोकानात्मनि प्रतिष्ठितान्वेदात्मैव स भवतीत्येतन्निर्वाणानुशासनमिति वेदानुशासनमिति वेदानुशासनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
evametān lokānātmani pratiṣṭhitānvedātmaiva sa bhavatītyetannirvāṇānuśāsanamiti vedānuśāsanamiti vedānuśāsanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एवम् एतान् लोकान्evam etān lokānso these worlds; just these worlds
आत्मनि प्रतिष्ठितान् वेदātmani pratiṣṭhitān vedaknows as established in the Self; understands as resting in the Ātman
आत्मा एव सः भवतिātmā eva saḥ bhavatihe himself becomes the Self; he is made the Ātman
इति एतत् निर्वाणानुशासनम् इतिiti etat nirvāṇānuśāsanam itisuch is the teaching of nirvāṇa; here is the doctrine of extinguishing
वेदानुशासनम् इतिvedānuśāsanam itisuch is the teaching of the Veda; here is the instruction of the Veda
वेदानुशासनम्vedānuśāsanamsuch is the teaching of the Veda; here is the instruction of the Veda
Translation
Who so knows these worlds as established in the Self, he himself becomes the Self. Such is the teaching of nirvāṇa, such is the teaching of the Veda, such is the teaching of the Veda.
Version
c61587c545c7 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:12:03 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The conclusion from the foregoing, and it is drawn by the rule this book uses constantly: as you know, so you become.
But one should hear what exactly must be known. Not “that the worlds are nine”, and not “that the highest of them is Brahmā's world”. What must be known is that all of them are established in the Self — that is, they are held neither by themselves nor by one another.
Note the difference between this and ordinary knowledge of the universe. One can learn the chart of the worlds by heart and remain where one was; it will only add information. Here is named a knowledge that changes the knower: he who has seen the thread on which the beads are strung ceases to be one of the beads.
And the closing formula is the same as at the end of the second, fifth, sixth and seventh khaṇḍas: “the teaching of extinguishing, the teaching of the Veda”. With it the book marks off its sections, like a seal.
Note, by the way, that this seal is set on places most diverse in content: the ladder of the elements' dissolution, the list of Nārāyaṇa's names, and now the chart of the worlds. One and the same word nirvāṇa is applied both to the folding-up of the universe and to what happens to the knower.