Upanishads · Varāha 2.47
॥
Devanāgarī
चिदिहास्तीति चिन्मात्रमिदं चिन्मयमेव च । चित्त्वं चिदहमेते च लोकाश्चिदिति भावय
Transliteration (IAST)
cidihāstīti cinmātramidaṃ cinmayameva ca | cittvaṃ cidahamete ca lokāściditi bhāvaya
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चित् इह अस्ति इति चित्-मात्रम्cit iha asti iti cit-mātram'consciousness is here' — consciousness alone
इदं चित्-मयम् एव चidaṃ cit-mayam eva caand this consists of consciousness alone
चित् त्वं चित् अहम्cit tvaṃ cit ahamconsciousness is you, consciousness is I
एते च लोकाः चित् इतिete ca lokāḥ cit itiand these worlds are consciousness — thus
भावयbhāvayareflect
Translation
"'Consciousness is here' — consciousness alone; and this consists of consciousness alone. Consciousness is you, consciousness is I, and these worlds are consciousness — thus reflect."
Version
6f293f825368 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
We have already read this verse: it stands word for word in the Yajnavalkya (23), and its examination was done there. This repetition deserves noting in itself, for it shows how the later Upanishads were composed: ready-made verses passed from book to book. This observation applies to the whole class and explains why incompatible positions alternate within one book: they were not written by a single hand.
Let us briefly repeat the examination made there. First: the very assertion of oneness contains two pronouns, "you" and "I"; and were the oneness complete, there would be no second person. Second: the verse ends with bhavaya, "reflect" — the imperative mood; and a description does not occur in the imperative mood.
Let us add a third point, relevant here. The verse stands right after the one that bids one reflect on Him and speak of Him with one another (2.46). This neighboring is telling: right after a verse on service stands a verse on identity, and the book does not reconcile them.
The Vaishnava side, in such cases, holds to a rule discussed more than once: decide by the places where a subject is expounded. The verse on service is expounded in detail and lists activities; the verse on identity is a formula. And hence the first weighs more.