Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 3.31
॥
Devanāgarī
दहरस्थः प्रत्यगात्मा नष्टे ज्ञाने ततः परम् । विततो व्याप्य विज्ञानं दहत्येव क्षणेन तु
Transliteration (IAST)
daharasthaḥ pratyagātmā naṣṭe jñāne tataḥ param | vitato vyāpya vijñānaṃ dahatyeva kṣaṇena tu
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दहर-स्थः प्रत्यक्-आत्माdahara-sthaḥ pratyak-ātmādwelling in the small, the inner self
नष्टे ज्ञाने ततः परम्naṣṭe jñāne tataḥ paramknowledge having perished, then beyond that
विततः व्याप्य विज्ञानंvitataḥ vyāpya vijñānaṃhaving spread, encompassing discernment
दहति एव क्षणेन तुdahati eva kṣaṇena tuburns, indeed, in an instant
Translation
"Dwelling in the small, the inner self, — knowledge having perished, then beyond that, having spread, encompassing discernment, burns in an instant".
Version
c930f31ff67c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Dahara-stha, "dwelling in the small," is named; and this word refers to the famous passage of the Chandogya (8.1.1) about dahara-akasha, "the small space" in the heart. This passage is discussed separately in the Vedanta-sutra (1.3.14–21), and the dispute over it has long been carried on: who dwells in this small space — the soul or the Highest? The Chandogya says: "in this city of Brahman there is a small lotus-dwelling, and in it a small space; what is within it must be sought." And further: what is in it is "as great as all this space."
Vaishnava commentators, beginning with Ramanuja, read this passage as being about the Highest, not the soul, and their argument is simple: it is said that within the small are contained the heavens and the earth, and the soul does not contain them. Here the book applies the same word to pratyag-atman, "the inner self"; and so this passage, in its exposition, reads as being about the soul. It is worth noting, though, that even on such a reading the main point holds: within the small dwells something that spreads and encompasses. And the word vitata, "spread out," is the same word that stands in the Rigveda of the sacrifice and of heaven.
Separately, a word must be said about kshanena, "in an instant." Again the instantaneousness discussed a line above; and again it is set at the close of a long preparation.