Upanishads · Brahma 4.13
॥
Devanāgarī
यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते अप्राप्य मनसा सह । आनन्दमेतज्जीवस्य यं ज्ञात्वा मुच्यते बुधः
Transliteration (IAST)
yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha | ānandametajjīvasya yaṃ jñātvā mucyate budhaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यतः वाचः निवर्तन्तेyataḥ vācaḥ nivartantewhence words return; from where speech turns back
अप्राप्य मनसा सहaprāpya manasā sahanot having reached, together with the mind; not attaining, along with the manas
आनन्दम् एतत् जीवस्यānandam etat jīvasyathis is the bliss of the jīva; this is the joy of the living one
यम् ज्ञात्वा मुच्यते बुधःyam jñātvā mucyate budhaḥknowing which, the wise one is freed; having understood which, the wise is released
Translation
Whence words return, together with the mind, not having reached — this is the bliss of the jīva, knowing which the wise one is freed.
Version
6afeb6a4101c · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:09:07 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first half of the verse is the most famous phrase of the Taittirīya: yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha.
There it ends otherwise: “...he who knows the bliss of Brahman fears nothing”.
Here the ending is changed, and the change matters: ānandam etaj jīvasya — “this is the bliss of the jīva”.
What words cannot reach, that is, is named not only the bliss of Brahman but the bliss of the living being.
This can be read in two ways, and the Vaiṣṇava reading is this: the bliss is one, and it belongs to Him; but the jīva shares in it, being of one essence with Him.
Note the phrase so often taken inside out. “Words return, not having reached” — this is not a ban on speech, a command to be silent. It means the subject is not captured by description, as a mountain is not captured by a map.
This whole library, come to think of it, was written by people who knew this verse by heart — and it was written all the same.
The last word — budhaḥ, “the wise one”. The same as in the third verse of the third chapter: “let the wise one leave the outer thread”.