Upaniṣads · Muṇḍaka 2.2.4
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रणवः धनुः शरः हि आत्मा ब्रह्म तत् लक्ष्यम् उच्यते ।
अप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत् तन्मयः भवेत् ॥
Transliteración (IAST)
praṇavaḥ dhanuḥ śaraḥ hi ātmā brahma tat lakṣyam ucyate |
apramattena veddhavyaṃ śaravat tanmayaḥ bhavet ||
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
प्रणवःpraṇavaḥthe praṇava (praṇava — the syllable Oṁ); the sacred syllable; the Oṁkāra
धनुःdhanuḥthe bow; the instrument
शरः हिśaraḥ hithe arrow indeed; precisely the arrow
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the self
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; the Absolute
तत्tatthat; it
लक्ष्यम्lakṣyamthe target; the mark
उच्यतेucyateis called; it is said
अप्रमत्तेनapramattenaundistracted (a-pramatta); without wandering; unremittingly attentive
वेद्धव्यम्veddhavyamis to be pierced; is to be realised
शरवत्śaravatlike the arrow (śara-vat); as an arrow does; arrow-like
तन्मयःtanmayaḥone with Him, made of Him (tan-maya — 'woven of That'); steeped in That; merged with the Target
भवेत्bhavetlet him become (optative of √bhū); may he be; let him be made
Traducción
The praṇava is the bow, the arrow is the Ātman, Brahman is called its target. It is to be pierced without distraction — and, like the arrow [in the target], one is to become one with Him.
Versión
bf2bd3133919 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 20:10:40 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The roles are assigned once for all: praṇavo dhanuḥ — "the bow is the praṇava", the syllable Oṁ (the Kaṭha called it "the best support", the Praśna "a chariot to the highest Puruṣa"; here it is the propelling force: the name speeds the soul towards the Named); śaro hy ātmā — "the arrow is the Ātman himself": not a thought about oneself, not an effort of mind — the soul itself: into this shot one puts not resources but the archer; brahma tal lakṣyam ucyate — "Brahman is called the target".
apramattena veddhavyam — "it is to be pierced by one undistracted": a-pramatta — without wandering (the Kaṭha 6.11 defined yoga by the same word): a hand that trembles at the moment of release sends the arrow a cubit wide; in the archery of the soul, distraction is the only miss.
And the greatest thing is in the last words: śaravat tan-mayo bhavet — "like the arrow, let him become made of That": tan-maya — "woven of That": an arrow that has entered the target abides within it — not beside, not near: inside. So the Upaniṣad defines the highest knowledge: not to know about Brahman but to enter Him and live by Him, to be steeped in the Target as an arrow in the body of the mark. Union — but note: the arrow that has entered the target has not ceased to be an arrow: it has ceased to fly separately. Union without annihilation — a mystery which the image holds more exactly than any formula.