उपनिषद् · Pañcabrahma 14
॥
देवनागरी
ईशानं परमं विद्यात्प्रेरकं बुद्धिसाक्षिणम् । आकाशात्मकमव्यक्तमोङ्कारस्वरभूषितम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
īśānaṃ paramaṃ vidyātprerakaṃ buddhisākṣiṇam | ākāśātmakamavyaktamoṅkārasvarabhūṣitam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
ईशानं परमं विद्यात्īśānaṃ paramaṃ vidyātlet one know Īśāna as the supreme
प्रेरकं बुद्धि-साक्षिणम्prerakaṃ buddhi-sākṣiṇamthe impeller, the witness of the intellect
आकाश-आत्मकम् अ-व्यक्तम्ākāśa-ātmakam a-vyaktamhaving space as his essence, unmanifest
ओंकार-स्वर-भूषितम्oṃkāra-svara-bhūṣitamadorned with the sound of the oṃkāra
अनुवाद
"Let one know Īśāna as the supreme — the impeller, the witness of the intellect, having space as his essence, unmanifest, adorned with the sound of the oṃkāra."
संस्करण
db8332b2fb87 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Two words here settle the matter, and both are worth examining: preraka, "impeller," and buddhi-sākṣin, "witness of the intellect." Of preraka it was said when reading the prose section (p5); here a second is added, and together they give an arrangement the Vaiṣṇava side considers her own. Sākṣin means "witness," literally "having eyes present": one who is present and sees without participating.
That is, of one and the same being it is said both that He impels and that He watches. This joining seems contradictory at first glance: the watcher does not act, while the impeller acts. It is resolved by the very distinction discussed when reading the eleventh verse: He does not act for a person, but permits and is present; and His presence is that by which action is possible at all.
The expression buddhi-sākṣin is worth noting in its own right. The witness named is not a witness of deeds but a witness of buddhi, "intellect," that is, of decisions. This detail matters and is worth voicing. Deeds are seen by other people too; decisions are seen by no one, often including the one deciding, for a person rarely knows the true motive of his own acts.
And here it is said that someone is present at decisions. The Vaiṣṇava side builds her understanding of conscience on this and says that what we call the inner voice is caitya-guru, "the teacher in the heart"; and the Gītā says: "from Me come memory, knowledge, and their loss" (15.15).