Upanishads · Prāṇāgnihotra 1.8
॥
Devanāgarī
अन्तश्चरसि भूतेषु गुहायां विश्वतोमुखः । त्वं यज्ञस्त्वं ब्रह्मा त्वं रुद्रस्तवं विष्णुस्त्वं वषट्कार आपो ज्योती रसोऽमृतं ब्रह्म भूर्भुवः सुवरोंनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
antaścarasi bhūteṣu guhāyāṃ viśvatomukhaḥ | tvaṃ yajñastvaṃ brahmā tvaṃ rudrastavaṃ viṣṇustvaṃ vaṣaṭkāra āpo jyotī raso'mṛtaṃ brahma bhūrbhuvaḥ suvaroṃnamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अन्तः चरसि भूतेषु गुहायांantaḥ carasi bhūteṣu guhāyāṃyou move within beings, in the cave [of the heart]
विश्वतः-मुखःviśvataḥ-mukhaḥyour face turned in every direction
त्वं यज्ञः त्वं ब्रह्माtvaṃ yajñaḥ tvaṃ brahmāyou are the sacrifice, you are Brahmā
त्वं रुद्रः त्वं विष्णुःtvaṃ rudraḥ tvaṃ viṣṇuḥyou are Rudra, you are Viṣṇu
त्वं वषट्-कारःtvaṃ vaṣaṭ-kāraḥyou are the exclamation vaṣaṭ
Translation
You move within beings, in the cave [of the heart], your face turned in every direction. You are the sacrifice, You are Brahmā, You are Rudra, You are Viṣṇu, You are the exclamation vaṣaṭ; the waters, the light, the sap, immortality, brahman; bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, suvaḥ, oṃ — homage.
Version
a8221ea26bd8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The address shifts into the second person and holds it to the end of the line: "You are the sacrifice, You are Brahmā." Note the first word: antaś carasi, "you move within." The verb car means "to walk, to move, to go about"; it is used instead of the usual tiṣṭhati, "abides."
There is a distinction here, and it deserves stating. "Abides" describes a position; "moves" describes an action. That is, the One in the cave of the heart is not placed there like a thing in a box: He walks within beings.
The Vaiṣṇava side insists on this and points out that all its descriptions of the inner witness are descriptions of an agent: He sees, permits, sustains, enjoys, rules — and the list from the Gītā (13.23) was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (8.7). The phrase viśvato-mukhaḥ, "face turned everywhere," deserves its own word. It means He has no side turned away. He faces everyone, not His back; and so there is no position from which one cannot turn to Him.
Let us add that the list "You are Brahmā, Rudra, Viṣṇu" is the usual gathering-in of hymns, discussed when reading the Gaṇapati (6.3): the language of worship, not an exposition of doctrine. What matters here is not who is listed, but that it is listed in the second person: all of them are named while addressing One.