Upanishads · Varāha 4.37
॥
Devanāgarī
अतद्व्यावृत्तिरूपेण साक्षाद्विधिमुखेन वा । महावाक्यविचारेण साङ्ख्ययोगसमाधिना
Transliteration (IAST)
atadvyāvṛttirūpeṇa sākṣādvidhimukhena vā | mahāvākyavicāreṇa sāṅkhyayogasamādhinā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अ-तत्-व्यावृत्ति-रूपेणa-tat-vyāvṛtti-rūpeṇaby the form of excluding not-that
साक्षात् विधि-मुखेन वाsākṣāt vidhi-mukhena vādirectly, or by the way of injunction
महा-वाक्य-विचारेणmahā-vākya-vicāreṇaby examination of the great utterances
साङ्ख्य-योग-समाधिनाsāṅkhya-yoga-samādhināby the samadhi of sankhya and yoga
Translation
"By the form of excluding not-that, or directly, by the way of injunction, — by examination of the great utterances, by the samadhi of sankhya and yoga…"
Version
2717e0d96b35 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two devices are named, and their distinction is fundamental in these books; it deserves stating, for it explains the whole cast of such literature. The first — atad-vyavritti, "excluding not-that": the negative device, neti neti. The second — vidhi-mukha, "by the way of injunction," that is, direct positive statement.
Worth noting is that here they are named on equal footing; and this, in my view, matters more than it seems. In the later nondualist school, the first device is held highest, and the second merely preparatory; here no such preference is drawn. The Vaishnava side holds the reverse order, and its argument was cited when reading the fourth chapter (4.19).
Let us briefly repeat: negation does not point. It outlines an empty place, but does not say what is in it. Hence its own literature is almost entirely positive: it lists names, properties, activities, companions — and negates only in a subordinate way, to remove the false.
Let us add what it says of the great utterances, for they are named here. The maha-vakyas, "great utterances," are four: prajnanam brahma, aham brahmasmi, tat tvam asi, ayam atma brahma; discussed at length when reading the Mahavakya. Its objection is not that the utterances are wrong, but that they are torn out: each of them stands in a narrative, each has a speaker and a listener, and each has a continuation, usually omitted.