Upanishads · Mahā 4.129
॥
Devanāgarī
मा भवाज्ञो भव ज्ञस्त्वं जहि संसारभावनाम् अनात्मन्यात्मभावेन किमज्ञ इव रोदिषि
Transliteration (IAST)
mā bhavājño bhava jñastvaṃ jahi saṃsārabhāvanām anātmanyātmabhāvena kimajña iva rodiṣi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मा भव अज्ञःmā bhava ajñaḥbe not unknowing; do not remain an ignorant one
भव ज्ञः त्वम्bhava jñaḥ tvambe thou a knower; become one who knows
जहि संसार-भावनाम्jahi saṃsāra-bhāvanāmslay the thought of the round; strike down the musing on the whirl
अनात्मनि आत्म-भावेनanātmani ātma-bhāvenaby thinking thyself in the non-self; through deeming thyself what thou art not
किम् अज्ञः इव रोदिषिkim ajñaḥ iva rodiṣiwhy dost thou weep like an ignorant man; why dost thou wail like an unlearned one
Translation
“Be not unknowing — be a knower; cast off the thought of the round. Why dost thou weep like an ignorant man, thinking thyself what thou art not?”
Version
2d85d918bf06 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A direct and almost homely address: “why dost thou weep?”
After dozens of verses on consciousness, vāsanās and non-designing, suddenly the simple reproach with which one quiets a child.
Note the verb rodiṣi — “thou weepest, wailest”. It carries us back to the third chapter, where Nidāgha set out his long lament over the world.
The teacher does not reject that lament: he heard it out entire, a whole chapter. But now he says: enough — and says it with that tenderness which exists only in closeness.
Mā bhavājño bhava jñas tvam — “be not unknowing, be a knower”: said as though it were in his power. And, by the whole structure of the chapter, it truly is.
Recall 4.88, where “man-worm” was flung at the pupil, and 4.102, where he is called “sinless”. The teacher's tone keeps changing, and it is the tone of a living conversation, not of a treatise.