उपनिषद् · Pañcabrahma 35
॥
देवनागरी
पुण्डरीकं तु तन्मध्ये आकाशो दहरोऽस्ति तत् । स शिवः सच्चिदानन्दः सोऽन्वेष्टव्यो मुमुक्षिभिः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
puṇḍarīkaṃ tu tanmadhye ākāśo daharo'sti tat | sa śivaḥ saccidānandaḥ so'nveṣṭavyo mumukṣibhiḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
पुण्डरीकं तु तत्-मध्येpuṇḍarīkaṃ tu tat-madhyebut the lotus in the middle of it
आकाशः दहरः अस्ति तत्ākāśaḥ daharaḥ asti tatthere is a small space
सः शिवः सत्-चित्-आनन्दःsaḥ śivaḥ sat-cit-ānandaḥHe is Śiva, being-consciousness-bliss
सः अन्वेष्टव्यः मुमुक्षिभिःsaḥ anveṣṭavyaḥ mumukṣibhiḥHe is to be sought by those who desire freedom
अनुवाद
"But the lotus in the middle of it, and in it a small space — He is Śiva, being-consciousness-bliss; He is to be sought by those who desire freedom."
संस्करण
af0150741a76 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The famous passage of the Chāndogya on dahara-ākāśa, "the small space," is cited, and it is worth citing it in full, for it is one of the chief passages in all of Vedānta. "In this city of brahman there is a small dwelling in the shape of a lotus, and within it a small space; what is within it is to be sought, that is to be striven to know" (Chāndogya 8.1.1). And further, in answer to the pupil's objection that it is nothing but a tiny space: "within it are contained the sky and the earth, fire and wind, sun and moon, lightning and stars; and whatever is here and whatever is not here — all that is contained within it" (8.1.3).
It is worth noting in the present line a word absent from the Chāndogya and added by the book: sa śivaḥ, "He is Śiva." That is, the small space is called a person. And anveṣṭavyaḥ, "is to be sought," is added, from anu-iṣ, "to seek, to search out."
It is on this word that one must dwell, for it settles more than all the preceding abstract examination. One can seek only another. One does not seek oneself; and a person who has set out in search of himself is using a figure of speech, not describing an action.
And it is added by whom: mumukṣibhiḥ, "by those who desire freedom," in the plural. That is, the seekers are many, and the Sought is one; and the whole structure of this line is the structure of the relation of many to one. The Vaiṣṇava side stands especially firmly on the dahara-vidyā, and the Vedānta-sūtra devotes a separate chapter to it (1.3.14–21), where it is proved that "the small space" is neither an element nor the soul but the Supreme; and the chief argument there is the same: it is said that He is sought.