उपनिषद् · Varāha 2.17
॥
देवनागरी
त्रिधामसाक्षिणं सत्यज्ञानानन्दादिलक्षणम् । त्वमहंशब्दलक्ष्यार्थमसक्तं सर्वदोषतः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
tridhāmasākṣiṇaṃ satyajñānānandādilakṣaṇam | tvamahaṃśabdalakṣyārthamasaktaṃ sarvadoṣataḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
त्रि-धाम-साक्षिणंtri-dhāma-sākṣiṇaṃwitness of the three abodes
सत्य-ज्ञान-आनन्द-आदि-लक्षणम्satya-jñāna-ānanda-ādi-lakṣaṇamwhose mark is truth, knowledge, bliss, and the rest
त्वम्-अहम्-शब्द-लक्ष्य-अर्थम्tvam-aham-śabda-lakṣya-arthamthe meaning signified by the words 'you' and 'I'
अ-सक्तं सर्व-दोषतःa-saktaṃ sarva-doṣataḥuntouched by any fault
अनुवाद
"Witness of the three abodes, whose mark is truth, knowledge, bliss, and the rest; the meaning signified by the words 'you' and 'I', untouched by any fault…"
संस्करण
1e8dcfa7d27d · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Worth noting is the expression tvam-aham-shabda-lakshya-artham, "the meaning signified by the words 'you' and 'I'." This expression is technical and goes back to the analysis of the great utterance tat tvam asi, discussed when reading the Ganapati (1.1). The analysis is this: a word has vachya-artha, "direct meaning," and lakshya-artha, "indicated meaning."
The direct meaning of the word "you" is this very person, with his body, rank, and circumstances. The indicated meaning is what remains in him when all this is removed. And the great utterance, it is said, joins the indicated meanings, not the direct ones: not "your body is brahman," but "what 'you' indicates and what 'that' indicates are one."
This analysis is itself legitimate, and the Vaishnava side does not reject it; it objects to what remains after the removal. Its argument is this: if one removes from "you" and "I" everything differentiating, what remains is not one, but two identical things; for sameness is not identity. Two gold ingots of the same weight and purity are indistinguishable — and yet there are two.
Let us add what deserves noting in this very verse. It says: signified are both "you" and "I"; that is, in a single line both pronouns are retained. And seventeen verses on, this same chapter will end in a mutual bow — "Thou art I, I am Thou" (2.34); and there we shall return to this.