Upanishads · Mahā 4.117
॥
Devanāgarī
चैतान्युपातरहितं सामान्येन च सर्वगम् यच्चित्तत्त्वमनाख्येयं स आत्मा परमेश्वरः
Transliteration (IAST)
caitānyupātarahitaṃ sāmānyena ca sarvagam yaccittattvamanākhyeyaṃ sa ātmā parameśvaraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चैत्य-उपात-रहितम्caitya-upāta-rahitamfree of the admixture of the cognizable; clear of the adventitious cognized
सामान्येन च सर्व-गम्sāmānyena ca sarva-gamand in its generality omnipresent; and in its universality all-pervading
यत् चित्-तत्त्वम् अनाख्येयम्yat cit-tattvam anākhyeyamthat unutterable essence of consciousness; that inexpressible truth of awareness
सः आत्मा परम-ईश्वरःsaḥ ātmā parama-īśvaraḥhe is the Ātman, the Supreme Lord; he is the Self, the sovereign Master
Translation
“That unutterable essence of consciousness, free of the admixture of the cognizable and omnipresent — it is the Ātman, the Supreme Lord.”
Version
f57d4267ebbe · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse brings together two lines of words the book has led separately, and does so in the last phrase: sa ātmā parameśvaraḥ.
The Ātman — and Parameśvara, “the Supreme Lord”.
This is not the first such passage (cf. 4.55, 4.70), but here the identification is made directly and without intermediaries.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta reads it as it reads the famous sayings of oneness: identity in nature, not in extent. The consciousness in us and the Consciousness by which the world is held are of one stock, as spark and fire; and therefore the verse's second half does not cancel His being named the Lord, nor the first half our belonging to Him.
Note the word anākhyeya — “unutterable”. It stands right before the name “Supreme Lord”.
There is no contradiction: He is called unutterable with respect to our speech, while the name is given by Him. This was already said in 4.44 and 4.56.
Caitya-upāta-rahita — “without admixture of the cognized”: the same as cit-mātra in 2.68.