Upanishads · Varāha 4.20
॥
Devanāgarī
द्र्ष्टृदर्शनदृश्यानि त्यक्त्वा वासनया सह । दर्शनप्रथमाभासमात्मानं केवलं भज
Transliteration (IAST)
drṣṭṛdarśanadṛśyāni tyaktvā vāsanayā saha | darśanaprathamābhāsamātmānaṃ kevalaṃ bhaja
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
द्रष्टृ-दर्शन-दृश्यानिdraṣṭṛ-darśana-dṛśyānithe seer, the seeing, and the seen
त्यक्त्वा वासनया सहtyaktvā vāsanayā sahahaving abandoned, together with the tendency
दर्शन-प्रथम-आभासम्darśana-prathama-ābhāsamthe first radiance of seeing
आत्मानं केवलं भजātmānaṃ kevalaṃ bhajathe self alone — worship
Translation
"Having abandoned the seer, the seeing, and the seen, together with the tendency, — worship the self alone, the first radiance of seeing."
Version
d552f81181d8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Worth noting is the verb bhaja, "worship, serve," from the root bhaj, "to divide, to allot, to be devoted." This word, in Vaishnava practice, is the root of the word bhakti, discussed when reading the Tarasara (1.11) and the Krishna Upanishad (1.4). Its meaning is not "contemplate" and not "know," but "serve, be devoted."
And here it is placed beside the word atmanam, "the self": one is bidden to serve the self. This detail is telling and deserves stating. The verb of service requires two: one serves someone, not oneself; the expression "serve oneself" is either a figure of speech or a mockery.
That is, here too, language set to express oneness takes up a word of relation; and we have noted such slips more than once — in the word tripti (2.44), in the word ashraya (2.80), in the word gati (4.10). Let us add the phrase darshana-prathama-abhasa, "the first radiance of seeing." It denotes what shines before the division into seer and seen; and this notion exists in Vaishnava teaching too — it calls it svarupa-jnana, "knowledge of one's own true nature."