Upanishads · Mahā 4.84
॥
Devanāgarī
लक्ष्यालक्ष्यमतिं त्यक्त्वा यस्तिष्ठेत्केवलात्मना शिव एव स्वयं साक्षादयं ब्रह्मविदुत्तमः
Transliteration (IAST)
lakṣyālakṣyamatiṃ tyaktvā yastiṣṭhetkevalātmanā śiva eva svayaṃ sākṣādayaṃ brahmaviduttamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
लक्ष्य-अलक्ष्य-मतिम् त्यक्त्वाlakṣya-alakṣya-matim tyaktvāhaving left the thought of the marked and the unmarked; having cast off the musing on the visible and the invisible
यः तिष्ठेत् केवल-आत्मनाyaḥ tiṣṭhet kevala-ātmanāwho abides as the Ātman alone; whoever will dwell solely as himself
शिवः एव स्वयम् साक्षात्śivaḥ eva svayam sākṣāthe is verily Śiva himself in person; he is in very truth the Benign One himself
अयम् ब्रह्म-वित्-उत्तमःayam brahma-vit-uttamaḥthis one is the highest of the knowers of Brahman; this man is the best among those who know Brahman
Translation
“Who, having left the thought of the marked and the unmarked, abides as the Ātman alone — he is verily the Benign One himself, the highest of the knowers of Brahman.”
Version
7413b2818431 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
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The word lakṣya means “what is pointed at, an aim, a mark”; alakṣya — “the unmarked, the unindicable”.
The thought of both must be left.
This is subtler than it seems. It is not enough to turn from the manifest; one must also stop holding the “unmanifest” as an object one strives for. Otherwise the unindicable becomes yet another aim, and an aim is again the division into “take” and “discard” (4.23).
The turn brahma-vid-uttama — “the highest of the knowers of Brahman” — is from the Muṇḍaka, where degrees of knowers are distinguished.
As for the words “he is Śiva himself” — they are to be read as in 4.75: the language of praise. A book that has twice called the Lord “worshipped by all the gods” (4.70) does not set the knower in His place.
Note the verse's design: it is all about ceasing to aim. Highest is called he who has no target left.