Upanishads · Mahā 6.80
॥
Devanāgarī
नित्योदितो निराभासो द्रष्टा साक्षी चिदात्मकः
Transliteration (IAST)
nityodito nirābhāso draṣṭā sākṣī cidātmakaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नित्य-उदितः निराभासःnitya-uditaḥ nirābhāsaḥeternally risen, without reflection; perpetually ascended, devoid of gleam
द्रष्टा साक्षी चित्-आत्मकःdraṣṭā sākṣī cit-ātmakaḥthe seer, the witness, whose essence is consciousness; the looker, the beholder, whose nature is awareness
Translation
“…eternally risen, without reflection — the seer, the witness, whose essence is consciousness.”
Version
38641bcf9a9e · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A half-verse, and in it two words the book has long awaited: draṣṭā and sākṣī — “the seer” and “the witness”.
All along it examined the triad “seer — seeing — seen”, pointing to the middle or cancelling the whole triad.
Here, at the end, the first is named: He is the Seer.
Note nitya-udita — “eternally risen”. A word of the kind used of the sun that never sets (cf. 4.55).
And nirābhāsa — “without reflection”: He has no reflection, because there is no second thing to reflect Him.
After this verse one step remains, and the next will take it: from “He is the witness” to “I am”.