Upanishads · Mahā 4.116
॥
Devanāgarī
मनागपि मनोव्योम्नि वासनारजनी क्षये कालिका तनुतामेति चिदादित्याप्रकाशनात्
Transliteration (IAST)
manāgapi manovyomni vāsanārajanī kṣaye kālikā tanutāmeti cidādityāprakāśanāt
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मनाक् अपि मनः-व्योम्निmanāk api manaḥ-vyomnieven a little, in the sky of the mind; though but a trifle, in the expanse of consciousness
वासना-रजनी-क्षयेvāsanā-rajanī-kṣayeat the waning of the night of vāsanās; at the ebbing of the night of inclinations
कालिका तनुताम् एतिkālikā tanutām etithe blackness grows thin; the darkness is made tenuous
चित्-आदित्य-प्रकाशनात्cit-āditya-prakāśanātfrom the shining forth of the sun of consciousness; from the dawning of the sun of awareness
Translation
“When in the sky of the mind the night of vāsanās wanes even a little, the blackness grows thin — from the shining forth of the sun of consciousness.”
Version
1baaf9419028 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A verse about measure, and the measure is consoling: manāg api — “even a little”.
One need not wait for full victory for it to grow lighter. A little has ebbed — and the blackness is thinner.
The image of dawn is chosen deliberately instead of the image of battle. Night is not defeated; it thins away.
Note the word kālikā — “blackness, darkness”, which also means “a stain, a film”. The play is close to what was in 2.77: kalanā-kalaṅka, “the stain of positing”.
And the cause: cid-āditya-prakāśana — “the shining forth of the sun of consciousness”. The sun does not rise in instalments; it rises, and the dark retreats gradually, because the earth is round.
The practical consequence is worth writing out. He who expects everything of himself at once is headed for disappointment. The work goes with the waning of the night, and every least bit of it is already visible.