Upanishads · Mahā 4.114
॥
Devanāgarī
अस्याः परं प्रपश्यन्ताः स्वात्मनाशः प्रजायते दृष्टे सर्वगते बोधे स्वयं ह्येषा विलीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
asyāḥ paraṃ prapaśyantāḥ svātmanāśaḥ prajāyate dṛṣṭe sarvagate bodhe svayaṃ hyeṣā vilīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अस्याः परम् प्रपश्यन्ताःasyāḥ param prapaśyantāḥin those who see beyond it; in those who behold past its bounds
स्व-आत्म-नाशः प्रजायतेsva-ātma-nāśaḥ prajāyatethe destruction of its very self takes place; there comes about the perishing of it itself
दृष्टे सर्व-गते बोधेdṛṣṭe sarva-gate bodhewhen the omnipresent awakening is seen; upon the beholding of the all-pervading insight
स्वयम् हि एषा विलीयतेsvayam hi eṣā vilīyateit dissolves entirely of itself; it melts away all of its own accord
Translation
“In those who see beyond it, its very self perishes; when the omnipresent awakening is seen, it dissolves of itself.”
Version
60c868156156 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse explains just how ignorance perishes, and the explanation matters: not from struggle, but from a look.
Svayam hi eṣā vilīyate — “it dissolves of itself”.
This agrees with 4.111: ignorance is no thing, and therefore there is nothing to destroy it with. It simply does not withstand the light, as darkness does not withstand a lamp.
Note the prefix pra- in prapaśyantāḥ: “those who see through, see beyond”. They look not at ignorance but through it.
This is the exact method. He who scrutinizes his ignorance strengthens it — gives it a shape it does not have. He who looks past it, at what lies beyond, removes it.
And the definition of what is seen: sarva-gata bodha — “the omnipresent awakening”. No special place and no rare moment: that which is everywhere.