तत् ह उभये देवासुराः अनुबुबुधिरे ते ह ऊचुः हन्त तम् आत्मानम् अन्वेच्छामः यम् आत्मानम् अन्विष्य सर्वांश् च लोकान् आप्नोति सर्वांश् च कामान् इति इन्द्रः ह एव देवानाम् अभिप्रवव्राज विरोचनः असुराणाम् तौ ह असंविदानौ एव समित्पाणी प्रजापतिसकाशम् आजग्मतुः
tat ha ubhaye devāsurāḥ anububudhire te ha ūcuḥ hanta tam ātmānam anvecchāmaḥ yam ātmānam anviṣya sarvāṃś ca lokān āpnoti sarvāṃś ca kāmān iti indraḥ ha eva devānām abhipravavrāja virocanaḥ asurāṇām tau ha asaṃvidānau eva samitpāṇī prajāpatisakāśam ājagmatuḥ
Both the gods and the asuras heard of it. They said: "Come, let us seek that ātman, by seeking whom one obtains all the worlds and all desires." Indra set out from among the gods, Virocana from among the asuras. And without any agreement between them, both came to Prajāpati with fuel in their hands.
ecc3cec05ca2 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 23:52:58 UTC
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The response to the manifesto: both camps — gods and asuras, eternal rivals — equip an envoy, each his best: Indra, king of the gods, and Virocana, king of the asuras. A wonderful detail: asaṁvidānau — "without agreement" — both came the same way, samit-pāṇī, "with fuel in their hands": even lords of the worlds approach knowledge only in the posture of pupils (the same gesture as the six householders before Aśvapati, 5.11.7).
The motive of both is so far identical and equally self-interested: "all the worlds and all desires". The Upaniṣad does not demand pure motives at the start — it accepts seekers with whatever thirst they have, and what will decide everything afterwards is not the motive but the ability not to be satisfied with the small. That will be the whole difference between Indra and Virocana: not the start but where each stops.