Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 26
॥
Devanāgarī
यदा ह्येवैष एतस्मिन्नदृश्यत्वादिलक्षणे । निर्भेदं परमाद्वैतं विन्दते च महायतिः
Transliteration (IAST)
yadā hyevaiṣa etasminnadṛśyatvādilakṣaṇe | nirbhedaṃ paramādvaitaṃ vindate ca mahāyatiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदा हि एव एषः एतस्मिन्yadā hi eva eṣaḥ etasminbut when he, in this
अ-दृश्यत्व-आदि-लक्षणेa-dṛśyatva-ādi-lakṣaṇehaving as its mark unseen-ness and the rest
निर्भेदं परम-अद्वैतंnirbhedaṃ parama-advaitaṃthe undifferentiated, supreme non-dual
विन्दते च महा-यतिःvindate ca mahā-yatiḥobtains — the great ascetic
Translation
But when he, in this — having as its mark unseen-ness and the rest — obtains the undifferentiated, supreme non-dual, [then] the great ascetic …
Version
b2262511a6fd · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The verse rests on the famous passage of the Taittirīya (2.7) and sets it forth in an Advaitic spirit: what is obtained is nirbhedaṃ parama-advaitaṃ, "the undifferentiated, supreme non-dual." The word nirbheda, "without differentiation," occurs here for the first time in this book, and it directly contradicts what this same book said eight lines earlier, where every inner sheath was called vibhinna, "distinct" (18–19). This contradiction need neither be hidden nor resolved by strain: the collection is composed of different pieces, and both statements lie side by side in it.
On the merits, this should be said. The Taittirīya's original, at this point, does not say "there is no difference"; it says: having found support in the unseen, the inexpressible, the groundless, he attains fearlessness. The word nirbheda is not there at all — it is added here.
And the next verse of this book, continuing the same excerpt, will say: "when he makes in this even a small gap, then fear comes to him." And there lies the true meaning of the whole passage, which we will discuss. A separate word is worth saying about the word adṛśyatva, "unseen-ness." In the Taittirīya it stands in a row: unseen, bodiless, inexpressible, unsupported. All of these are negations of what is accessible to the senses; and none of them negates a person. Even one who has simply left the room is unseen.