Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 21
॥
Devanāgarī
आनन्देन सदा पूर्णः सदा ज्ञानमयः सुखम् । तथानन्दमयश्चापि ब्रह्मणोऽन्येन साक्षिणा
Transliteration (IAST)
ānandena sadā pūrṇaḥ sadā jñānamayaḥ sukham | tathānandamayaścāpi brahmaṇo'nyena sākṣiṇā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आनन्देन सदा पूर्णःānandena sadā pūrṇaḥwith bliss, always full
सदा ज्ञान-मयः सुखम्sadā jñāna-mayaḥ sukhamalways consisting of discernment — happiness
तथा आनन्द-मयः च अपिtathā ānanda-mayaḥ ca apiso too the one consisting of bliss
ब्रह्मणः अन्येन साक्षिणाbrahmaṇaḥ anyena sākṣiṇāby a witness other than Brahman
Translation
Always full with bliss, the one consisting of discernment is always happiness; so too the one consisting of bliss, by a witness other than Brahman …
Version
fd41f9343110 · published Aug 7, 2026, 1:56:05 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The chain is brought to its end, and the last link is stated in words that must be written out: brahmaṇaḥ anyena sākṣiṇā, "by a witness other than Brahman." That is, the sheath of bliss is full not with itself, but with what is within it — and this within is named the witness, and, moreover, anya, "other." This can be read two ways, and both readings circulate in the commentaries. By the first, anya refers to the sheath: the witness is other than it, namely, Brahman. By the second, literal one, the witness is named other than Brahman.
The first reading is more usual and probably closer to the sense. But even under it, the verse says enough: at the very depth of a person — beyond body, breath, mind, discernment, and bliss — is found not himself, but a witness. This is what the whole mapping was leading to. One who seeks himself passes through five sheaths, and at the last finds not a bottom, but a watcher; and this watcher is not him, for otherwise he would not be called a witness.
The Vaiṣṇava side stands on this, and the Gītā says the very same thing, in almost the same words: "in this body there is also another — the Supreme Spirit, called the witness, the permitter, the sustainer, the enjoyer, the great lord" (13.23). The word apara, "other," stands there directly; and five definitions in a row, all about a person.