Upaniṣads · Mahā 4.111
॥
Devanāgarī
अविद्या विद्यमानैव नष्टप्रज्ञेषु दृश्यते नाम्नैवाङ्गीकृताकारा सम्यक्प्रज्ञस्य सा कुतः
Transliteración (IAST)
avidyā vidyamānaiva naṣṭaprajñeṣu dṛśyate nāmnaivāṅgīkṛtākārā samyakprajñasya sā kutaḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अविद्या विद्यमाना एवavidyā vidyamānā evaignorance, as if existing; unknowing, seemingly present
नष्ट-प्रज्ञेषु दृश्यतेnaṣṭa-prajñeṣu dṛśyateis seen in those whose insight has perished; is observed in those who have lost understanding
नाम्ना एव अङ्गीकृत-आकाराnāmnā eva aṅgīkṛta-ākārāonly by name has it taken on a shape; solely through its name has it acquired an outline
सम्यक्-प्रज्ञस्य सा कुतःsamyak-prajñasya sā kutaḥwhence should it be in one of perfect insight; how should it exist in one who fully understands
Traducción
“Ignorance, as if existing, is seen in those whose insight has perished; it has taken shape only by its name — whence should it be in one of perfect insight?”
Versión
39b340cf960a · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
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The verse speaks of what kind of thing ignorance is, and the answer is: no kind.
It is vidyamānā eva — “as if present”, and nāmnaiva aṅgīkṛtākārā — “having taken shape only by its name”. That is, it has no look of its own; the name gave it its look.
This matters for practice. Ignorance cannot be attacked as an object, because there is no object.
Compare 4.94, where the mind is resolved into three habits, and 4.50, where the mind is found neither outside nor within. It is all one thought: the enemy we seek is not a thing but a state of affairs.
And the question at the end: samyak-prajñasya sā kutaḥ — “whence should it be in one who understands?”.
The question is rhetorical and consoling. Not “how long must it be driven out”, but “it is simply not there where understanding is”. Darkness does not leave a lighted room — it was never in it.