Upanishads · Pañcabrahma 28
॥
Devanāgarī
यस्य श्रवणमात्रेणाश्रुतमेव श्रुतं भवेत् । अमतं च मतं ज्ञातमविज्ञातं च शाकल
Transliteration (IAST)
yasya śravaṇamātreṇāśrutameva śrutaṃ bhavet | amataṃ ca mataṃ jñātamavijñātaṃ ca śākala
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्य श्रवण-मात्रेणyasya śravaṇa-mātreṇaby the mere hearing of which
अ-श्रुतम् एव श्रुतं भवेत्a-śrutam eva śrutaṃ bhavetthe unheard becomes heard
अ-मतं च मतं ज्ञातम्a-mataṃ ca mataṃ jñātamand the unthought, thought, known
अ-विज्ञातं च शाकलa-vijñātaṃ ca śākalaand the unknown, O Śākala
Translation
"By the mere hearing of which the unheard becomes heard, the unthought becomes thought and known, and the unknown [becomes known], O Śākala."
Version
6293a7b918fe · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The famous promise of the Chāndogya is cited, and it is worth citing it in its authentic form, for the present line is a retelling of it. Uddālaka says to Śvetaketu: uta tam ādeśam āprakṣyo yenāśrutaṃ śrutaṃ bhavaty amataṃ mataṃ avijñātaṃ vijñātam iti, "did you ask for that instruction by which the unheard becomes heard, the unthought becomes thought, the unknown becomes known?" (Chāndogya 6.1.3). Śvetaketu asks: how is that? — and the father answers with comparisons of clay, gold, and iron, which the present book will give in the following verses.
It is worth saying at once what the promise consists in, for at first glance it seems incredible. It does not promise omniscience. It promises that, having known one thing, you know everything made from it — in the respect in which it is made from it.
This distinction matters, and Uddālaka himself draws it with his example: having known clay, you know what all pots are made of; but you have not thereby counted the pots, and you have not learned to work the potter's wheel. The Vaiṣṇava side stands on precisely this qualification, and it will be discussed in the verses to come. Let us note here what is worth noting in the promise itself: śravaṇa-mātreṇa, "by mere hearing."
That is, the decisive action is named as hearing, not reflection and not practice. This nuance is not developed by the book, but it is developed to the full by the Vaiṣṇava side: for her śravaṇam stands first among the nine forms of service, and her whole structure is the structure of a listening community.