Upanishads · Mahā 4.58
॥
Devanāgarī
देशाद्देशान्तरप्राप्तौ संविदो मध्यमेव यत् निमेषेण चिदाकाशं तद्विद्धि मुनिपुङ्गव
Transliteration (IAST)
deśāddeśāntaraprāptau saṃvido madhyameva yat nimeṣeṇa cidākāśaṃ tadviddhi munipuṅgava
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
देशात् देश-अन्तर-प्राप्तौdeśāt deśa-antara-prāptauin the passing from place to another place; at the attainment of one place from another
संविदः मध्यम् एव यत्saṃvidaḥ madhyam eva yatthat which is the very middle of awareness; just what lies amid the knowing
निमेषेण चित्-आकाशम्nimeṣeṇa cit-ākāśamin the blink of an eye — the space of consciousness; within an instant, the expanse of awareness
तत् विद्धि मुनि-पुङ्गवtat viddhi muni-puṅgavaknow it, O bull among sages; understand it, O best of the silent
Translation
“That which lies in the very middle of awareness in the passing from place to place — know, O bull among sages: that, in the blink of an eye, is the space of consciousness.”
Version
a1e5665b598c · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A pointing, not a reasoning: look here.
Take the instant of transition. Attention was on one thing, now it is on another. Between them there is an interval — madhyam, “the middle”.
In that middle there is neither the first object nor the second. And consciousness meanwhile does not go out.
There it is, says the teacher. That is cid-ākāśa.
The device is ancient and known in the books of yoga: to seek not in the states but in the seams between them — between two thoughts, between in-breath and out-breath, between sleep and waking.
The ground is simple. In the states themselves consciousness is occupied with content and therefore does not see itself. In the interval there is no content, and it is.
The word nimeṣa — “the blink of an eye” — speaks both of brevity and of this: no long preparations are needed; it is accessible now.