उपनिषद् · Kena 3.8
॥
देवनागरी
तद् अभ्यद्रवत् तम् अभ्यवदत् को ऽसीति वायुर् वा अहम् अस्मीत्य् अब्रवीन् मातरिश्वा वा अहम् अस्मीति ॥
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
tad abhyadravat tam abhyavadat ko 'sīti vāyur vā aham asmīty abravīn mātariśvā vā aham asmīti ||
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
तत्tatto Him; towards that
अभ्यद्रवत्abhyadravatran up; approached
तम्tamto him; him
अभ्यवदत्abhyavadatasked; addressed
कःkaḥwho; which
असिasiare you; you are
इतिitithus; saying
वायुःvāyuḥVāyu; the wind
वैvaiverily; indeed
अहम्ahamI; I myself
अस्मिasmiam; I am
इतिitithus; saying
अब्रवीत्abravīthe said; he answered
मातरिश्वाmātariśvāMātariśvan ('growing in the mother [space]' — a name of the wind); the cosmic breath; the lord of the air
वैvaiverily; indeed
अहम्ahamI; I myself
अस्मिasmiam; I am
इतिitithus; saying
अनुवाद
He ran towards Him. [The yakṣa] asked him: "Who are you?" — "I am Vāyu, I am Mātariśvan."
संस्करण
0768816fe017 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 7:28:41 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The same swift approach, the same question ko 'si — "who are you?" — and an answer of the same construction: name and title. mātariśvā — "growing in the mother", that is, in mother space: an ancient name of the wind that gathers strength in the womb of the airy expanses. Vāyu defines himself by a cosmic role exactly as Agni did — and exactly as Agni fails to hear what he is really being asked.
The literalness of the repetition is not poverty of narrative but its precision: pride is impersonal and therefore monotonous. The names change — Agni, Vāyu, then Indra — but the grammar of self-exaltation is one: "I" plus title plus "I can do everything". Against this deadening sameness the Upaniṣad has already set the living variety of the first khaṇḍa: there every organ pointed beyond itself — to the One; here every power points at itself — and therefore they are indistinguishable.