Upanishads · Varāha 3.27
॥
Devanāgarī
नात्मज्ञस्यैष विषय आत्मज्ञो ह्यात्ममात्रदृक् । आत्मनात्मनि सन्तृप्तो नाविद्यामनुधावति
Transliteration (IAST)
nātmajñasyaiṣa viṣaya ātmajño hyātmamātradṛk | ātmanātmani santṛpto nāvidyāmanudhāvati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न आत्म-ज्ञस्य एषः विषयःna ātma-jñasya eṣaḥ viṣayaḥnot for the knower of the self, this
आत्म-ज्ञः हि आत्म-मात्र-दृक्ātma-jñaḥ hi ātma-mātra-dṛkis an object; for the knower of the self sees only the self
आत्मना आत्मनि सन्तृप्तःātmanā ātmani santṛptaḥby the self, in the self, content
न अविद्याम् अनुधावतिna avidyām anudhāvatidoes not run after ignorance
Translation
"This is not an object for the knower of the self; the knower of the self sees only the self; content by the self in the self, he does not run after ignorance."
Version
e8145e24766b · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting is the verb anudhavati, "runs after," from anu-dhav, "to run after." The word is precise: perfections are exactly what one runs after, as one runs after something departing. Let us add the phrase atmana atmani santriptah, "content by the self in the self."
Of the word tripti, "contentment," discussed when reading the second chapter (2.44), and there the Vaishnava side's grammatical objection was cited: "to be content" is a verb requiring two — one is content with someone or something. Let us briefly repeat, for here the phrase stands in its most compressed form: it says "by the self in the self," that is, both the instrumental and locative cases are occupied by the same word. This construction is grammatically possible but unusual; and its unusualness is a sign that language strains to express what it cannot express.
The Vaishnava side points to such strainings as an argument: where a thought is natural, language flows easily. Let us add what is true in the verse, and what it accepts fully. It is said: one who is content does not run.