Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ
yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

ఈశావాస్యమిదం సర్వం యత్ కించ జగత్యాం జగత్ |
తేన త్యక్తేన భుంజీత మా గృధః కస్య స్విద్ధనమ్ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Īśa — the Supreme Reality, Brahman
• Āvāsyam — pervaded, enveloped, indwelt
• Idam — this
• Sarvam — all
• Yat kiñca — whatsoever
• Jagatyām — in the moving world
• Jagat — that which moves (the universe)
• Tena — by that understanding
• Tyaktena — through renunciation (of ownership)
• Bhuñjīthāḥ — enjoy, live, partake
• Mā — do not
• Gṛdhaḥ — covet, crave
• Kasya svid — belonging to whom
• Dhanam — wealth, possession

Overall Meaning:
All that exists is pervaded by the one non-dual Brahman. When this truth is known, the sense of ownership collapses, and life is lived in freedom, not possession. Renunciation here is not rejection of the world, but dissolution of the ego that claims it.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Śaṅkara explains that Īśvara here signifies Brahman associated with Māyā, the inner Self of all. Since everything is pervaded by Brahman, nothing can rightly be claimed as “mine.” The instruction “tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā” does not mean physical abandonment or charity, but renunciation of ownership and doership while living in the world. Enjoyment (bhoga) is permitted only without possessiveness. The final injunction “mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam” strikes at the root of greed, which arises from ignorance of non-duality; if all belongs to Īśvara, covetousness is irrational. Thus, the mantra establishes an Advaitic way of life that prepares the mind for Self-knowledge: live fully, without appropriation, seeing all as Brahman.

Yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāni
ātmany evānupaśyati
sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ
tato na vijugupsate

యస్తు సర్వాణి భూతాని ఆత్మన్యేవానుపశ్యతి |
సర్వభూతేషు చాత్మానం తతో న విజుగుప్సతే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yaḥ tu — he who
• Sarvāṇi — all
• Bhūtāni — beings
• Ātmani eva — in the Self alone
• Anupaśyati — directly perceives
• Sarva-bhūteṣu — in all beings
• Ca — and
• Ātmānam — the Self
• Tataḥ — therefore
• Na vijugupsate — does not hate, does not recoil

Overall Meaning:
One who sees all beings as the Self, and the Self in all beings,
cannot experience hatred, fear, or aversion.
Advaita removes the very foundation of conflict by ending the notion of “the other.”

 Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that aversion (jugupsā) arises only where difference and separateness are perceived. When, through right knowledge, one sees all beings as non-different from the Self and the Self as present in all beings, the very basis of hatred, fear, and rejection disappears. This vision is not imaginative or emotional empathy, but direct knowledge of non-duality. Since the knower recognizes the same Self everywhere, there remains no “other” to dislike or avoid. Thus, this mantra describes the natural ethical consequence of Advaita-jñāna: universal non-aversion grounded in the realization of oneness, not in moral effort or injunction.

Yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāni
ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka
ekatvam anupaśyataḥ

యస్మిన్ సర్వాణి భూతాని ఆత్మైవాభూద్ విజానతః |
తత్ర కో మోహః కః శోక ఏకత్వమ్ అనుపశ్యతః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yasmin — in whom (the knower)
• Sarvāṇi bhūtāni — all beings
• Ātmā eva abhūt — have become the Self alone
• Vijānataḥ — for the one who knows
• Tatra — there
• Kaḥ — what
• Mohaḥ — delusion
• Kaḥ śokaḥ — what sorrow
• Ekatvam — oneness
• Anupaśyataḥ — seeing directly

Overall Meaning:
When all plurality is known to be the Self alone,
delusion and sorrow become impossible.
Suffering belongs only to ignorance, never to Reality.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that delusion (moha) and sorrow (śoka) arise solely from ignorance of one’s true nature, which projects multiplicity and separation. When knowledge dawns and one realizes that all beings are not merely seen in the Self but have become the Self alone, the root cause of suffering is destroyed. The perception of ekatva (absolute oneness) eliminates fear, grief, and confusion automatically, because these depend on the mistaken notion of an “other.” This mantra describes the culmination of Advaitic realization, where non-duality is no longer an intellectual vision but an established certainty, leaving no scope for emotional disturbance or existential suffering.

Sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇam
asnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddham
kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūḥ
yāthātathyato’rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyah samābhyah

స పర్యగాచ్ఛుక్రమకాయమవ్రణమ్ అస్నావిరమ్ శుద్ధమపాపవిద్ధమ్ |
కవిర్మనీషీ పరిభూః స్వయమ్భూః యాథాతథ్యతోऽర్థాన్ వ్యదధాచ్ఛాశ్వతీభ్యః సమాభ్యః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Saḥ — that (Brahman)
• Paryagāt — pervades everything
• Śukram — self-luminous, pure
• Akāyam — bodiless
• Avraṇam — without defect
• Asnāviram — non-physical
• Śuddham — pure
• Apāpa-viddham — untouched by sin
• Svayambhūḥ — self-existent

Overall Meaning:
Brahman is formless, actionless, and untouched by karma.
This mantra destroys all anthropomorphic ideas of God and establishes pure Consciousness as the only Reality.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that this mantra describes Brahman from the standpoint of true knowledge, negating all limiting attributes superimposed by ignorance. Śukram (radiant) signifies self-luminous consciousness, not physical brightness. Akāyam (bodiless), avraṇam (without wound), and asnāviram (without nerves or organs) deny all materiality and embodiment, affirming that Brahman is not subject to decay, injury, or action. Śuddham and apāpa-viddham establish absolute purity, showing that Brahman is untouched by karma, merit, or sin. The epithets kavi and manīṣī do not imply intellectual activity, but omniscience born of identity with all, while svayambhūḥ negates dependence on any cause. Finally, Śaṅkara clarifies that the ordering of the universe (vyadadhāt) is not an act in time like human creation, but the eternal, effortless manifestation of cosmic order through Māyā, perfectly aligned with the law of karma. Thus, this mantra completes the Īśā teaching by revealing Brahman as pure, actionless, all-pervading consciousness, free from all defects and limitations.

Hiraṇmayena pātreṇa
satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham
tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu
satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

హిరణ్మయేన పాత్రేణ సత్యస్యాపిహితం ముఖమ్ |
తత్ త్వం పూషన్నపావృణు సత్యధర్మాయ దృష్టయే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Hiraṇmayena — by a golden (illusory) covering
• Pātreṇa — vessel, covering
• Satyasya — of Truth (Brahman)
• Apihitam — concealed
• Mukham — face
• Apāvṛṇu — remove
• Dṛṣṭaye — for direct vision

Overall Meaning:
The radiant world-appearance (māyā) veils the Truth.
The seeker prays not for heaven or power, but for removal of ignorance so that Brahman may be directly known.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Śaṅkara explains that the “golden vessel” (hiraṇmaya pātra) symbolizes the brilliant but limiting manifestation of Īśvara associated with Māyā, particularly the luminous cosmic order governed by the sun (Pūṣan). Though radiant and pure, this manifestation still veils the absolute Truth (Brahman), just as gold’s brilliance can obscure what lies beneath. The “face of Truth” (satyasya mukham) refers to nirguṇa Brahman, the ultimate reality free from name, form, and function. The seeker’s prayer is not for worldly vision or divine favors, but for the removal of this subtle veil, so that non-dual Truth may be directly realized. According to Śaṅkara, this mantra expresses the final aspiration of the Advaitic seeker: the transcendence of even exalted cosmic forms and the dissolution of the last trace of ignorance, enabling direct realization of Brahman beyond all appearances.

Yad vācānabhyuditaṁ yena vāg abhyudyate
tad eva brahma tvaṁ viddhi
nedam yad idam upāsate

యద్వాచానభ్యుదితం యేన వాగభ్యుద్యతే |
తదేవ బ్రహ్మ త్వం విద్ధి నేదం యదిదముపాసతే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yat — that which
• Vācā — by speech
• Anabhyuditam — cannot be expressed
• Yena — by which
• Vāk — speech
• Abhyudyate — is enabled, functions
• Tat eva — that alone
• Brahma — Brahman
• Tvam viddhi — know that
• Na idam — not this
• Yat idam upāsate — which people worship as an object

Overall Meaning:
That which speech cannot express, but by which speech is able to express—know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people worship here as an object.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that Brahman is not an object of speech, for speech functions only within the realm of names, forms, and concepts. Since Brahman is the very consciousness that enables speech to function, It cannot itself be spoken of or described. Anything that can be articulated, named, or invoked through words belongs to the domain of the knowable and therefore cannot be the ultimate Reality. The mantra thus negates verbal realism, just as other Kena mantras negate mental and sensory realism, establishing Brahman as the self-luminous subject that empowers speech while remaining beyond linguistic reach. By declaring “not this which people worship,” Śaṅkara emphasizes that Brahman is not to be confused with any objectified or verbalized notion of God, however sacred it may appear.

Yan manasā na manute
yenāhur mano matam
tad eva brahma tvaṁ viddhi
nedam yad idam upāsate

యన్మనసా న మనుతే యేనాహుర్మనో మతమ్ |
తదేవ బ్రహ్మ త్వం విద్ధి నేదం యదిదముపాసతే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yat — that which
• Manasā — by the mind
• Na manute — is not thought
• Yena — by which
• Āhuḥ — they say
• Manaḥ matam — the mind thinks
• Tat eva — that alone
• Brahma — Brahman
• Tvam viddhi — know that
• Na idam — not this
• Upāsate — people meditate upon

Overall Meaning:
Brahman is not a mental object.
It is that because of which the mind thinks.
Meditating on Brahman as an object misses Brahman entirely.

👉 Brahman is the light behind all cognition.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Śaṅkara explains that the mind cannot grasp Brahman as an object, because the mind itself is illumined by Brahman. The phrase “yenāhur mano matam” indicates that Brahman is the inner witness-consciousness by which the mind thinks, judges, and knows. Since the knower can never be known as an object, Brahman necessarily transcends mental activity. Therefore, anything that the mind can conceive, imagine, or meditate upon as an object—even in worship—cannot be Brahman in the ultimate sense. This mantra decisively negates mental realism and establishes Brahman as the subject behind the mind, known not through thought but through the removal of ignorance.

Yac cakṣuṣā na paśyati
yena cakṣūṁṣi paśyati
tad eva brahma tvaṁ viddhi
nedam yad idam upāsate

యచ్చక్షుషా న పశ్యతి యేన చక్షూంషి పశ్యతి |
తదేవ బ్రహ్మ త్వం విద్ధి నేదం యదిదముపాసతే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yat — that which
• Cakṣuṣā — by the eye
• Na paśyati — is not seen
• Yena — by which
• Cakṣūṁṣi — eyes
• Paśyati — see
• Tat eva — that alone
• Brahma — Brahman
• Tvam viddhi — know that
• Na idam — not this
• Upāsate — people worship

Overall Meaning:
That which the eye cannot see, but by which the eyes are able to see—know That alone to be Brahman, and not this which people worship here as an object.

 Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that Brahman can never be an object of sensory perception, because the senses themselves function only by the presence of Brahman as consciousness. The eyes see forms and colors, but Brahman is the seer behind the seeing, the inner witness (sākṣin) that illumines visual perception without itself being perceived. Whatever is seen, visualized, or objectified belongs to the realm of the perceived and therefore cannot be Brahman in the ultimate sense. Through this mantra, Śaṅkara decisively negates sensory realism, just as earlier mantras negate verbal and mental realism, establishing Brahman as the self-luminous subject that transcends all sensory knowledge.

nāhaṁ manye suvedeti
no na vedeti veda ca |
yo nastad veda tad veda
no na vedeti veda ca ||

నాహం మన్యే సువేదేతి నో న వేదేతి వేద చ |
యో నస్తద్వేద తద్వేద నో న వేదేతి వేద చ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• na — not
• aham — I
• manye — think
• su-veda iti — “I know (Brahman) well”
• na u — nor
• na veda iti — “I do not know (Brahman)”
• veda ca — (yet) I know
• yaḥ — he who
• naḥ — among us
• tat veda — knows That
• tat veda — truly knows That
• na u na veda iti — “not as not knowing”
• veda ca — and yet knows

Overall Meaning:
I do not think ‘I know Brahman well,’ nor do I think ‘I do not know It.’ He among us who understands this truly knows Brahman—he knows that It is not known as an object, and yet he knows It.

Adi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara clarifies that Brahman is neither an object that can be fully known nor something utterly unknown, because It is self-revealing as one’s own consciousness. To say “I know Brahman” objectifies It; to say “I do not know Brahman” denies Its self-evident nature. True knowledge lies in understanding this paradox: Brahman is unknown as an object, yet known as the Self. The wise person neither asserts possession of knowledge nor falls into ignorance, but abides in non-dual awareness beyond knowing and not-knowing.

yasyāmataṁ tasya mataṁ
mataṁ yasya na veda saḥ |
avijñātaṁ vijānatāṁ
vijñātaṁ avijānatām ||

యస్యామతం తస్య మతం మతం యస్య న వేద సః |
అవిజ్ఞాతం విజానతాం విజ్ఞాతం అవిజానతామ్ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• yasya — of whom
• amataṁ — (Brahman is) not thought / not objectified
• tasya — of him
• mataṁ — (it is) known
• mataṁ — known (as an object)
• yasya — of whom
• na veda — does not know
• saḥ — he
• avijñātam — unknown
• vijānatām — to those who think they know
• vijñātam — known
• avijānatām — to those who think they do not know

Overall Meaning:
He to whom Brahman is not an object of thought truly knows It; he who thinks he knows It does not know It. Brahman is unknown to those who think they know It, and known to those who think they do not know It.

Adi Śaṅkara’s Commentary (Essence)
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that Brahman cannot be known as an object, because It is the very Self of the knower. One who claims “I know Brahman” treats Brahman as something separate and objectifiable, and therefore remains ignorant. Conversely, one who understands that Brahman cannot be grasped by thought, concept, or experience—who does not objectify It—truly knows, because such a person abides as Brahman itself. Here, “not knowing” means freedom from conceptual knowledge, and “knowing” means identity with the Self. This mantra demolishes intellectual pride and prepares the seeker for non-dual realization.

Pratibodha-viditaṁ matam
amṛtatvaṁ hi vindate
ātmana vindate vīryaṁ
vidyayā vindate’mṛtam

ప్రతిబోధవిదితం మతమమృతత్వం హి విందతే |
ఆత్మనా విందతే వీర్యం విద్యయా విందతేఽమృతమ్ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Pratibodha-viditam — known in every cognition
• Matam — considered, understood
• Amṛtatvam — immortality
• Hi — indeed
• Vindate — attains
• Ātmanaḥ — of the Self
• Vindate vīryam — gains strength
• Vidyayā — through knowledge
• Vindate amṛtam — attains immortality

Overall Meaning:
Brahman is known when It is recognized in every act of cognition; through this knowledge one attains immortality. Through the Self one gains true strength, and through knowledge one attains immortality.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains pratibodha-viditam as that which is known in every cognition, meaning not as an object perceived intermittently, but as the ever-present witnessing consciousness revealed whenever any knowledge arises. Brahman is not attained as a new experience; It is already present as the Self and is recognized only when ignorance is removed. The “strength” (vīrya) spoken of here is not physical power but inner firmness, fearlessness, and freedom from dependence, which arise from Self-knowledge. Immortality (amṛtatva) is freedom from birth and death, attained solely through knowledge, not through action, ritual, meditation, or worship. Thus, Śaṅkara establishes that liberation is immediate upon right knowledge and is realized here and now.

anyac chreyo anyad utaiva preyas
te ubhe nānārthe puruṣaṁ sinītaḥ |
tayor yaḥ śreyo ’dādānasya sādhur
bhavati hīyate ’rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte ||

అన్యచ్ఛ్రేయో అన్యదుతైవ ప్రేయ- స్తే ఉభే నానార్థే పురుషం సినీతః |
తయోర్యః శ్రేయ ఆదదానస్య సాధుర్- భవతి హీయతేఽర్థాద్య ఉ ప్రేయో వృణీతే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• anyat śreyaḥ — one thing is the Good (ultimate good)
• anyat uta eva preyaḥ — another indeed is the Pleasant
• te ubhe — both of them
• nānā-arthe — for different ends
• puruṣam — a person
• sinītaḥ — bind / attract
• tayoḥ — of the two
• yaḥ — he who
• śreyaḥ — the Good
• ādādānaḥ — chooses, accepts
• sādhuḥ — truly good, noble
• bhavati — becomes
• hīyate — falls, is diminished
• arthāt — from the goal
• yaḥ u preyaḥ vṛṇīte — but he who chooses the Pleasant

Overall Meaning:
The Good is one thing, and the Pleasant is another; both bind a person, leading to different ends. Of the two, he who chooses the Good becomes truly noble, while he who chooses the Pleasant falls away from the true goal.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that this mantra lays the foundational discrimination required for Vedānta. Śreyas refers to what leads to ultimate liberation, namely Self-knowledge, while Preyas refers to what is immediately pleasing but ultimately binding—sense pleasures, power, wealth, heaven, and ritual merit. Both attract the human being, but they lead in opposite directions. Choosing śreyas requires discrimination (viveka) and restraint, while choosing preyas is natural to the unreflective mind and results in continued saṁsāra. Śaṅkara emphasizes that spiritual life begins not with practices, but with this decisive inner choice. Without rejecting preyas, śreyas can never be attained.

na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścin-
nāyaṃ kutaścinna babhūva kaścit |
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato’yaṃ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ||

న జాయతే మ్రియతే వా విపశ్చి-న్నాయం కుతశ్చిన్న బభూవ కశ్చిత్ |
అజో నిత్యః శాశ్వతోఽయం పురాణో న హన్యతే హన్యమానే శరీరే ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• na: Not
• jāyate: is born
• mriyate: dies
• vā: or
• vipaścit: the omniscient Self (the conscious principle)
• na: not
• ayam: this (Self)
• kutaścit: from any cause / from anywhere
• na babhūva: did not come into being / did not originate
• kaścit: anything (else)
• ajaḥ: unborn
• nityaḥ: eternal / permanent
• śāśvataḥ: everlasting / undecaying
• ayam: this
• purāṇaḥ: ancient (yet ever-new)
• na hanyate: is not killed / is not destroyed
• hanyamāne: when being killed / when being destroyed
• śarīre: in the body

Overall Meaning:
From the perspective of Advaita Vedānta, this verse serves as a primary definition of the Ātman (the individual soul) as being identical to Brahman (the ultimate reality).

1. Negation of the Six Modifications (Ṣaḍ-bhāva-vikāra):
   In Advaita philosophy, all matter undergoes six changes: birth, existence, growth, evolution, decay, and death. By describing the Self as ajaḥ (unborn) and na mriyate (does not die), Yama teaches Naciketā that the Self is Nirvikāra (changeless). It is the witness of change, but never the subject of it.
2. The Nature of Consciousness (Vipaścit):
   The Self is termed vipaścit, meaning “the intelligent” or “the wise.” In this context, wisdom is not a quality the Self possesses, but rather its very essence. Consciousness is the fundamental substratum that does not “begin” when the body is born, nor “end” when the body ceases.
3. Causeless Reality:
   The phrase nāyaṃ kutaścinna (“it did not come from anywhere”) establishes that the Self is not an effect of a cause. In Advaita, if something is caused, it is temporary. Since the Self is uncaused, it is the only Absolute Reality.
4. The Concept of Purāṇaḥ:
   The term Purāṇaḥ is traditionally interpreted as purā api navaḥ—”Ancient, yet ever-new.” This highlights that the Self is beyond the reach of time. While the physical body ages and shows the passage of years, the “I” (Pure Consciousness) remains the same constant presence throughout childhood, youth, and old age.
5. Non-Destructibility:The final line, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, provides the ultimate metaphysical solace. It uses the analogy of space; just as the space inside a room is not affected if the walls are torn down, the Ātman remains unaffected by the dissolution of the physical frame.

Adi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that this mantra categorically negates all six modifications (ṣaḍ-bhāva-vikāra)—birth, existence, growth, transformation, decay, and death—with respect to the Self. By declaring that the Self is neither born nor dies, Śaṅkara establishes that it is not an effect, not subject to causation, and therefore not part of the changing world. The terms ajaḥ (unborn), nityaḥ (eternal), śāśvataḥ (unchanging), and purāṇaḥ (ever-ancient) are used to remove any residual notion that the Self has a temporal origin or end. The final declaration—na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre—is crucial in Śaṅkara’s Advaita: the destruction of the body does not affect the Self, because the Self is not the body, not the senses, and not the mind, but the witness-consciousness (sākṣin) that illumines them. This teaching dismantles fear of death by revealing that mortality belongs only to the body, while the Self remains ever untouched, self-existent, and identical with Brahman.

Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān
ātmāsya jantor nihito guhāyām
tam akratuḥ paśyati vītaśoko
dhātuḥ prasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ

అణోరణీయాన్ మహతో మహీయాన్ ఆత్మాస్య జంతోర్నిహితో గుహాయామ్ |
తమక్రతుః పశ్యతి వీతశోకో ధాతుప్రసాదాన్మహిమానమాత్మనః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Aṇoḥ aṇīyān — subtler than the subtlest
• Mahataḥ mahīyān — greater than the greatest
• Ātmā — the Self
• Asya jantoḥ — of this embodied being
• Nihitaḥ — is lodged
• Guhāyām — in the cave (of the heart/intellect)
• Tam — that (Self)
• Akratuḥ — desireless
• Paśyati — sees
• Vītaśokaḥ — free from sorrow
• Prasādāt — through clarity/purity
• Ātmanaḥ mahimānam — the glory of the Self

Overall Meaning:
The Self is infinitely subtle yet all-pervading.
It is not found by effort or desire, but by inner clarity and stillness.
When known, sorrow ends completely.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that the apparent paradox—“subtler than the subtle, greater than the great”—reveals the non-material, non-spatial nature of the Self. The Self is “subtler” because it is not perceptible to the senses or the mind, and “greater” because it is all-pervading and limitless, not confined by the body or intellect. Though spoken of as “hidden in the cave of the heart,” Śaṅkara clarifies that this is not a physical location, but the buddhi (intellect), where the reflection of consciousness becomes evident. The Self is realized only by one who is akratuḥ—free from desire, egoistic effort, and doership—because desire presupposes duality. When the intellect becomes pure and tranquil (prasāda), sorrow dissolves naturally, and the mahimā (glory) of the Self shines forth as one’s own true nature. Liberation, therefore, is not a movement toward something distant, but the recognition of the ever-present Self once mental impurities and desires are removed.

Yad eveha tad amutra
yad amutra tad anv iha
mṛtyoḥ sa mṛtyum āpnoti
ya iha nāneva paśyati

యదేవేహ తదముత్ర యదముత్ర తదన్విహ |
మృత్యోః స మృత్యుమాప్నోతి య ఇహ నానేవ పశ్యతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Yat eva iha — what is here
• Tat amutra — that is there
• Yat amutra — what is there
• Tat anu iha — that is also here
• Mṛtyoḥ mṛtyum — death after death
• Āpnoti — attains
• Yaḥ — he who
• Iha — here
• Nāna iva paśyati — sees as though different

Overall Meaning:
What is here alone is there; what is there alone is here. He who sees multiplicity here, as though it were real, goes from death to death.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that this mantra declares the absolute continuity of reality, denying any real division between “this world” and “the other world.” The same one Brahman appears as both, just as the same space appears divided by jars. There is no separate heaven, hell, or afterlife apart from what is experienced here; difference belongs only to ignorance (avidyā). The phrase “mṛtyoḥ sa mṛtyum āpnoti” does not merely indicate physical death, but repeated bondage to saṁsāra—birth, death, fear, and limitation. According to Śaṅkara, one who sees plurality as real (nānā iva paśyati) remains trapped in ignorance and therefore continues to experience death again and again. Liberation arises only when multiplicity is understood as appearance, and the non-dual Self alone is recognized everywhere, here and hereafter.

Eko vaśī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā
ekaṁ rūpaṁ bahudhā yaḥ karoti
tam ātmāsthaṁ ye’nupaśyanti dhīrās
teṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām

ఏకో వశీ సర్వభూతాంతరాత్మా ఏకం రూపం బహుధా యః కరోతి |
తమాత్మస్థం యేఽనుపశ్యంతి ధీరా స్తేషాం సుఖం శాశ్వతం నేతరేషామ్ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Ekaḥ — one
• Vaśī — ruler, controller
• Sarva-bhūta-antarātmā — inner Self of all beings
• Ekam rūpam — one form
• Bahudhā karoti — appears as many
• Tam — that (Self)
• Ātmāstham — abiding in the Self
• Anupaśyanti — directly perceive
• Dhīrāḥ — the wise
• Teṣām — for them
• Sukham śāśvatam — eternal happiness
• Na itareṣām — not for others

Overall Meaning:
The One alone is the sovereign, the inner Self of all beings; though one, It appears as many forms. Those wise ones who realize That Self abiding in themselves attain eternal happiness—others do not.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that the “one controller” (ekaḥ vaśī) is not a separate personal deity, but Brahman itself, the non-dual Self that appears as the ruler only from the empirical standpoint. Being the inner Self of all beings, Brahman is one without a second, yet through Māyā it appears as manifold names and forms (ekaṁ rūpaṁ bahudhā karoti). This plurality does not affect Brahman’s oneness, just as reflections do not divide the sun. The wise (dhīraḥ) are those who, through discrimination and Self-knowledge, recognize this one Self as their own innermost reality (ātmāstham). For them alone arises eternal happiness (śāśvataṁ sukham), because sorrow belongs only to duality and ignorance. Those who see multiplicity as real (itareṣām) remain bound to fear, desire, and impermanence. Thus, Śaṅkara establishes that liberation and lasting bliss arise solely from non-dual realization, not from worship, action, or belief in a separate ruler.

Eternal happiness belongs only to those who realize the one non-dual Self as their own inner reality; duality alone is the cause of sorrow.

tasmai sa hovāca prajākāmo vai prajāpatiḥ |
sa tapo’tapyata sa tapastaptvā sa mithunamutpādayate |
rayiṃ ca prāṇaṃ cetyetau me |
bahudhā prajāḥ kariṣyata iti ||

తస్మై స హోవాచ ప్రజాకామో వై ప్రజాపతిః |
స తపోఽతప్యత స తపస్తప్త్వా స మిథునముత్పాదయతే |
రయిం చ ప్రాణం చేత్యేతౌ మే |
బహుధా ప్రజాః కరిష్యత ఇతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Tasmai — to him (Katyayana)
• Saḥ ha uvāca — he (Pippalāda) indeed said
• Prajākāmaḥ — desiring offspring/progeny
• Vai — indeed
• Prajāpatiḥ — the Lord of Creatures
• Saḥ — he
• Tapaḥ atapyata — performed austerity/meditation
• Taptvā — having performed (tapas)
• Mithunam — a pair (couple)
• Utpādayate — produced/created
• Rayim — Matter (the Moon/Food)
• Ca — and
• Prāṇam — Energy (the Sun/Eater)
• Iti — thus
• Etau — these two
• Me — for me
• Bahudhā — in many ways
• Prajāḥ — creatures
• Kariṣyataḥ — will produce

Overall Meaning:
To him he said: Prajāpati, desiring creation, performed austerity. Having performed austerity, he produced a pair—Rayi (matter) and Prāṇa (life). He declared: ‘These two shall multiply beings for Me in manifold ways.’

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that Prajāpati here does not mean the absolute Brahman, but Hiraṇyagarbha, the cosmic creator functioning within Māyā. Creation is described not as an absolute origination, but as a manifestation of names and forms through the projection of dual principles. Rayi represents matter, form, food, and objectivity, while Prāṇa represents life, energy, activity, and subjectivity. All empirical existence arises from the interaction of these two. Śaṅkara emphasizes that this account is given from the standpoint of empirical reality (vyāvahārika satya) for the sake of instruction. Ultimately, from the absolute standpoint (pāramārthika satya), there is no real creation at all (ajāti-vāda)—only Brahman appears as this duality through ignorance. Thus, the teaching prepares the student to understand that all plurality is a dependent appearance upon the one non-dual Self.

tān hovāca mā mohamāpadyatha | 
aham-evaitat pañcadhātmānaṃ pravibhajya |
etad-bāṇam-avaṣṭabhya vidhārayāmīti |
te’śraddadhānā babhūvuḥ ||

తాన్ హోవాచ మా మోహమాపద్యథ |
అహమేవైతత్ పంచధాత్మానం ప్రవిభజ్య |
ఏతద్బాణమవష్టభ్య విధారయామీతి |
తేఽశ్రద్ధధానా బభూవుః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Tān — to them (the deities/senses)
• Ha uvāca — (Prāṇa) indeed said
• Mā — do not
• Moham-āpadyatha — fall into delusion
• Aham — I
• Eva — alone
• Etat — this
• Pañcadhā — in five ways/parts
• Ātmānam — myself
• Pravibhajya — having divided
• Etad — this
• Bāṇam — arrow (the body/bundle of senses)
• Avaṣṭabhya — supporting/upholding
• Vidhārayāmi — I hold it together
• Iti — thus
• Te — they
• Aśraddadhānāḥ — skeptical/without faith
• Babhūvuḥ — became/were

Overall Meaning:
He said to them: “Do not fall into delusion. I alone, having divided myself into five forms, support and sustain this body.” But they did not believe him.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Śaṅkara explains that the speaker here is Prāṇa, addressing the other faculties (speech, mind, eye, ear, etc.). Prāṇa asserts its functional supremacy by declaring that it alone sustains the body through its fivefold manifestation—prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, samāna. The warning “mā moham āpadyatha” cautions against the delusion of assuming independent power apart from Prāṇa. The other faculties initially remain unconvinced (aśraddadhānāḥ), still clinging to autonomy. Śaṅkara stresses that this teaching operates at the empirical (vyāvahārika) level for instructional clarity. Ultimately, even Prāṇa is not the absolute Self; it too is a dependent principle within Māyā. The deeper Advaitic purport is that all functions derive their existence from Brahman alone, and none possess independent reality.

hṛdi hyeṣa ātmā atraitad-ekaśataṁ nāḍīnām |
tāsāṁ śataṁ śatam ekaikasyā dvasaptatiḥ |
dvasaptatiḥ pratiśākhā nāḍī-sahasrāṇi bhavanty āsu |
vyānaś carati ||

హృది హ్యేష ఆత్మా అత్రైతదేకశతం నాడీనామ్ |
తాసాం శతం శతమేకైకస్యా ద్వసప్తతిః |
ద్వసప్తతిః ప్రతిశాఖానాడీసహస్రాణి భవన్త్యాసు |
వ్యానశ్చరతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• hṛdi — in the heart
• hi — indeed
• eṣaḥ ātmā — this Self / prāṇa principle
• atra — here
• etad-ekaśatam — one hundred
• nāḍīnām — of nāḍīs (subtle channels)
• tāsām — of those
• śatam — a hundred
• śatam — hundred
• eka-ekasyāḥ — of each one
• dva-saptatiḥ — seventy-two
• pratiśākhā — branching subdivisions
• nāḍī-sahasrāṇi — thousands of nāḍīs
• bhavanti — come to be
• āsu — in them
• vyānaḥ — the vyāna-vāyu (one of the five prāṇas)
• carati — moves, circulates

Overall Meaning:
Indeed, this Self (as Prāṇa) resides in the heart. Here there are one hundred nāḍīs. Each of these has one hundred branches, and each branch has seventy-two thousand sub-channels. Through them the prāṇa called Vyāna circulates.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Śaṅkara explains that this description belongs to the empirical (vyāvahārika) level, where the Self is spoken of as Prāṇa for explanatory purposes. The “heart” (hṛd) is not merely a physical organ, but the central locus of the subtle body, where consciousness reflects in the intellect. The enumeration of nāḍīs conveys the vast subtle network through which vital functions operate. Vyāna is identified as the prāṇa responsible for pervasive circulation, distributing energy uniformly throughout the body. Śaṅkara emphasizes that such numerical descriptions are didactic, meant to explain functional dependence and order, not to assert ultimate reality. Ultimately, Prāṇa itself is subordinate to Brahman, and this physiological cosmology is later sublated by Self-knowledge, where neither nāḍīs nor prāṇas have independent reality.

The vast nāḍī-network explains prāṇic function at the empirical level; in truth, all prāṇa and structure depend on Brahman alone.

sa yo ha vaitat tacchāyam-aśarīram | 
alohitaṃ śubhram-akṣaraṃ vedayate yastu somya | 
sa sarvajñaḥ sarvo bhavati |
tad-eṣa ślokaḥ ||

స యో హ వై తత్తచ్ఛాయమశరీరమలోహితం శుభ్రమక్షరం వేదయతే యస్తు సోమ్య |
స సర్వజ్ఞః సర్వో భవతి తదేష శ్లోకః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Saḥ yaḥ — He who
• Ha vai — Indeed/verily
• Etat — This
• Tat-chāyam — Shadowless (without the darkness of ignorance)
• Aśarīram — Bodyless (without physical form)
• Alohitam — Colorless (without attributes or qualities)
• Śubhram — Pure/Radiant
• Akṣaraṃ — Imperishable/Indestructible
• Vedayate — Knows/Realizes
• Yaḥ tu — He who
• Somya — O beloved (addressing the student)
• Saḥ sarvajñaḥ — He becomes all-knowing
• Sarvaḥ bhavati — He becomes everything/the All
• Tad-eṣa ślokaḥ — Regarding this, there is a verse

Overall Meaning:
O gentle one, whoever truly knows that bodiless, bloodless, pure, imperishable reality—of the nature of pure consciousness—becomes all-knowing and becomes all. Of this truth, the following verse is the summary.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that this mantra describes Brahman in purely negational and luminous terms, stripping away every trace of physicality and limitation. Aśarīram negates embodiment; alohitam denies material composition; śubhram indicates self-luminous purity; akṣaram establishes changeless eternality. Brahman is described as “chāyā” not in the sense of shadow, but as that which illumines all, the substratum of every experience. The knower of this Brahman does not acquire omniscience as a property; rather, by identity with Brahman, he is said to be sarvajñaḥ and sarvaḥ—all-knowing and all—because there remains no second reality apart from the Self. Śaṅkara emphasizes that this is identity-knowledge (tādātmya-jñāna), not mystical vision or supernatural power. The declaration “tad eṣa ślokaḥ” introduces the concluding verse that poetically re-affirms this non-dual realization.

sa yathā imā nadyas syandamānās samudrāyaṇāḥ |
samudraṃ prāpyāstaṃ gacchanti bhidyete tāsāṃ nāmarūpe | 
samudra ityevaṃ procyate evam evāsyā paridraṣṭurimāḥ | 
ṣoḍaśa kalāḥ puruṣāyaṇāḥ puruṣaṃ prāpyāstaṃ gacchanti ||

స యథేమా నద్యః స్యందమానాః సముద్రాయణాః |
సముద్రం ప్రాప్యాస్తం గచ్ఛంతి భిద్యేతే తాసాం నామరూపే |
సముద్ర ఇత్యేవం ప్రోచ్యతే ఏవమేవాస్య పరిద్రష్టురిమాః |
షోడశ కలాః పురుషాయణాః పురుషం ప్రాప్యాస్తం గచ్ఛంతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Sa yathā — Just as.
• Imāḥ nadyaḥ — These flowing rivers.
• Samudrāyaṇāḥ — Heading towards the ocean.
• Samudraṃ prāpya — Having reached the ocean.
• Astaṃ gacchanti — Disappear/merge.
• Bhidyete nāmarūpe — Their name and form are destroyed.
• Samudra iti — “The Ocean” only.
• Evam eva — In the same way.
• Aṣya paridraṣṭuḥ — Of this Seer (the witness).
• Ṣoḍaśa kalāḥ — The sixteen parts (of manifestation).
• Puruṣaṃ prāpya — Having reached the Puruṣa (the Supreme Person).

Overall Meaning:
Just as rivers flowing toward the ocean, upon reaching the ocean, lose their individual names and forms and are spoken of only as “the ocean,” so too, for the knower, these sixteen constituents, having the Puruṣa as their goal, upon reaching the Puruṣa, lose their separate identity and merge into Him.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that this mantra illustrates complete dissolution of individuality through knowledge, not physical annihilation. The sixteen kalās—including prāṇa, sense-powers, mind, intellect, and their functions—constitute the empirical personality of the jīva. When Self-knowledge dawns, these do not literally cease to function, but their independent reality is sublated. Just as rivers do not “vanish” but lose separateness upon reaching the ocean, the kalās lose their individuality upon realization of Puruṣa (Brahman). For the knower (paridraṣṭṛ), there remains no experiencer distinct from Brahman, and therefore no separate organs or functions to be claimed as “mine.” Śaṅkara emphasizes that this merging is identity-realization (tādātmya-jñāna), not a post-mortem event or yogic absorption. Liberation is thus the recognition that the Self alone exists, with all distinctions resolved into non-duality.

In Self-knowledge, all constituent powers lose individuality and resolve into Brahman, just as rivers lose name and form upon reaching the ocean.

ehy ehy eti vacanam bruvāṇaḥ
samānam etat pṛthivīṁ ca dyām ca |
puṇyaṁ cāpuṇyaṁ ca vidhūya dhīraḥ
brahmātmanoḥ saṁparivṛḍham eti ||

ఏహ్యేహ్యేతి వచనం బ్రువాణః |
సమానమేతత్ పృథివీం చ ద్యాం చ ||
పుణ్యం చాపుణ్యం చ విధూయ ధీరః |
బ్రహ్మాత్మనోః సంపరివృఢమేతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• ehi ehi iti — “come, come” (inviting promises of ritual reward)
• vacanam bruvāṇaḥ — uttering such words
• samānam etat — this is the same (equally binding)
• pṛthivīm ca dyām ca — earth and heaven
• puṇyam ca apuṇyam ca — merit and demerit
• vidhūya — having completely shaken off
• dhīraḥ — the wise one
• brahma-ātmanoḥ — of Brahman and the Self
• saṁparivṛḍham eti — attains complete identity / perfect non-difference

Overall Meaning:
The ritualistic calls of “come, come,” promising heavenly rewards, are no different from earthly attainments, for both bind equally. The wise one, having shaken off both merit and demerit, attains complete identity of the individual Self with Brahman.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkara explains that the words “ehi ehi” symbolize the seductive invitations of ritualistic religion—promises of heaven, prosperity, power, continuity, and pleasure. Though these rewards appear superior, Śaṅkara insists that they are no different from worldly gains, because both operate entirely within saṁsāra and are therefore impermanent.

The statement “samānam etat pṛthivīṁ ca dyām ca” is deliberately radical. Earth and heaven are declared equal in bondage. One may be subtler and longer-lasting, but neither grants freedom. Thus, Śaṅkara dismantles the assumption that moral merit or religious success automatically leads to liberation.

The decisive Advaitic move comes with “puṇyaṁ cāpuṇyaṁ ca vidhūya.” Śaṅkara clarifies that both merit and demerit bind, because both presuppose doership and enjoyership, which arise only from ignorance of the Self. Liberation is impossible as long as one clings to being a doer—even a virtuous one.

Finally, “brahmātmanoḥ saṁparivṛḍham eti” does not indicate union, proximity, or reward. It signifies complete identity (tādātmya). The wise do not reach Brahman as another entity; they realize that the Self was always Brahman, and that all notions of ascent, reward, and return belonged to ignorance alone.

Caution for Affluent Businesspeople and Leaders
For those who wield vast wealth, enterprises, and influence, this mantra carries special urgency.

Affluent businesspeople operate under a tremendous volume of karma. Every decision multiplies into thousands of lives—employees, families, markets, nations. The Upaniṣads do not condemn such power; they warn about it. High karma without Self-knowledge is high-risk karma. Merit accumulated through success, philanthropy, and leadership binds just as strongly as error when performed without knowledge of the Self.

Ādi Śaṅkara’s warning is precise: karma—whether puṇya or pāpa—binds equally in ignorance. For ordinary individuals the bondage is limited; for global leaders and industrialists, the bondage is proportionately vast. Wealth amplifies consequences. Influence accelerates karmic momentum. Success without Self-knowledge quietly crystallizes ego, attachment, and ownership, which determine one’s post-death trajectory.

Advaita Vedānta does not ask such people to abandon action. It offers something far more powerful: the science of non-binding action. When one understands “I am not the doer; I am the witnessing Self,” action continues, wealth continues, leadership continues—but bondage stops. Karma becomes purified, transparent, and non-binding.

The Upaniṣads indicate that those who leave the body with Self-knowledge depart with clarity and dignity. They are not dragged by residual tendencies. They receive royal treatment in higher realms, not merely due to charity or success, but because their karma was illumined by knowledge. Such beings preserve their intellectual refinement, leadership capacity, and inner maturity, enabling them to later take birth in dharmic, cultured, and often affluent families, where further evolution proceeds naturally.

Without Advaita wisdom, even noble philanthropy can result only in recycling within saṁsāra—sometimes upward, sometimes downward, often unpredictably. With Advaita wisdom, worldly engagement itself becomes a ladder across lives, carrying forward both material capability and spiritual clarity.

Therefore, for affluent leaders, Self-knowledge is not a spiritual luxury. It is conscious risk management at the level of destiny. It teaches the only stable formula:

• Act fully
• Own nothing inwardly
• Lead without ego-projection
• Serve without self-claim
• Depart without fear

Vedānta does not promise heaven.
It promises clarity, continuity, and command over one’s trajectory.

For those who have mastered the external world, Advaita is mastery of the inner law—without which even kings fall, and with which even departure from this planet becomes conscious, luminous, and royal.

yasmin dyauḥ pṛthivī cāntarikṣam
otaṁ manaḥ saha prāṇaiś ca sarvaiḥ |
tam evaikaṁ jānatātmānam
anyaḥ vāco vimucatha amṛtasya eṣa setuḥ ||

యస్మిన్ ద్యౌః పృథివీ చాంతరిక్షమ్
ఓతం మనః సహ ప్రాణైశ్చ సర్వైః |
తమేవైకం జానథాత్మానమ్
అన్యా వాచో విముంచథ అమృతస్యైష సేతుః ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• yasmin — in which (that Reality)
• dyauḥ — heaven
• pṛthivī ca — and earth
• antarikṣam — and the intermediate space
• otam — are woven, pervaded, held together
• manaḥ — the mind
• saha — along with
• prāṇaiḥ ca sarvaiḥ — all the vital forces
• tam eva ekam — that One alone
• jānatha — know, realize
• ātmānam — as the Self
• anyaḥ vācaḥ vimucatha — abandon all other talk or discourse
• amṛtasya eṣa setuḥ — this is the bridge to immortalit

Overall Meaning:
That Reality in which heaven, earth, and the intermediate space are woven—along with the mind and all the vital forces—know that One alone as the Self. Abandon all other speech, for this alone is the bridge to immortality.

 Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary 
Śaṅkara explains that this mantra reveals Brahman as the single substratum of both the cosmos and the individual. Heaven, earth, space, mind, and prāṇa are not independent realities; they are appearances sustained in Brahman, just as cloth exists only because of threads. The term “otam” (woven) is crucial—it denies separateness while preserving empirical appearance.

By including mind and prāṇa, the Upaniṣad explicitly removes the distinction between outer universe and inner personality. Śaṅkara emphasizes that the same Brahman that appears as the world also appears as the individual experiencer. Hence, Brahman is not to be known as an object, deity, or distant principle, but as one’s own Self (ātmānam).

The injunction “anyaḥ vāco vimucatha” is not a rejection of speech in general, but a rejection of all discursive, ritualistic, theological, and speculative talk that treats Brahman as something other than oneself. Śaṅkara states that such talk belongs to ignorance because it sustains duality. When Brahman is known as the Self, no second thing remains to be spoken of.

Finally, “amṛtasya eṣa setuḥ”—this is the bridge to immortality—means that Self-knowledge alone destroys death, which for Śaṅkara is not physical death but ignorance-born identification with the body and mind. Immortality is not reaching another realm; it is the recognition that one was never mortal to begin with.

The universe and the individual are woven into one Reality.
Know That alone as the Self, abandon all notions of otherness,
for non-dual knowledge alone is the bridge beyond death.

manomayaḥ prāṇa-śarīra-netā
pratiṣṭhito’nne hṛdayaṁ sannidhāya |
tad vijñānena paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ
ānanda-rūpam amṛtaṁ yad vibhāti ||

మనోమయః ప్రాణశరీరనేతా
ప్రతిష్ఠితోऽన్నే హృదయం సన్నిధాయ |
తద్ విజ్ఞానేన పరిపశ్యంతి ధీరాః
ఆనందరూపమమృతం యద్ విభాతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• manomayaḥ — appearing as the mind (associated with mind)
• prāṇa-śarīra-netā — the leader / sustainer of the body and vital forces
• pratiṣṭhitaḥ — established, abiding
• anne — in food (i.e., in the gross body sustained by food)
• hṛdayaṁ sannidhāya — dwelling in the heart (the inner intellect)
• tat — that (Brahman / the Self)
• vijñānena — by true, discriminative knowledge
• paripaśyanti — see everywhere, behold on all sides
• dhīrāḥ — the wise ones
• ānanda-rūpam — of the nature of bliss
• amṛtam — immortal
• yat vibhāti — which shines forth (self-luminous)

Overall Meaning:
That Self, which appears as the mind, sustains the body and the vital forces, and dwells in the heart within the food-sustained body, is seen everywhere by the wise through true knowledge as the self-luminous, blissful, and immortal Reality.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary
Śaṅkara is careful in explaining the opening word “manomayaḥ.” Brahman does not literally become the mind. Rather, Brahman appears as mind due to association with limiting adjuncts (upādhi-sambandha), specifically the inner organ (antaḥkaraṇa). Just as a pure crystal appears coloured by proximity, Brahman appears mental, vital, and embodied without undergoing any change.

The phrase “prāṇa-śarīra-netā” does not imply that Brahman is an active doer or controller. Śaṅkara clarifies that Brahman is called the “leader” only because without Its presence, mind, prāṇa, and body cannot function. It is the substratum consciousness, not an agent.

“Anne pratiṣṭhitaḥ” indicates that the body is sustained by food, yet Brahman remains entirely unconditioned by the body. The heart (hṛdaya) is mentioned not as a physical location, but because the intellect is the clearest reflecting medium for consciousness.

Crucially, Śaṅkara stresses “tad vijñānena paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ.” The Self is not merely “understood” or “clearly realized” inwardly; the wise see the Self everywhere, in all beings and all appearances. This is sarvātma-darśana — the collapse of the distinction between inner realization and outer world.

The Self is known as ānanda-rūpa not as an emotion, but as limitless fullness, and as amṛta because it is free from identification with body and mind. Immortality here means freedom from ignorance, not survival after death.

The Self appears as mind and life, yet remains untouched; through knowledge, the wise behold it everywhere as their own blissful, immortal nature.

Why this mantra dissolves division

• It removes the false hierarchy between body, mind, and soul
• It reveals one consciousness appearing as all functions
• It dissolves the split between inner realization and outer world
• It grounds human dignity not in identity, but in shared Being

Brahmaivedam amṛtaṁ purastād
brahma paścād brahma dakṣiṇataś cottareṇa
adhaś cordhvaṁ ca prasṛtaṁ brahmaivedaṁ
viśvam idaṁ variṣṭham

బ్రహ్మైవేదమమృతం పురస్తాత్ బ్రహ్మ పశ్చాత్ బ్రహ్మ దక్షిణతశ్చోత్తరేణ |
అధశ్చోర్ధ్వం చ ప్రసృతం బ్రహ్మైవేదం విశ్వమిదం వరిష్ఠమ్ ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Brahma eva idam — Brahman alone is this
• Amṛtam — immortal
• Purastāt / paścāt — before / behind
• Dakṣiṇataḥ / uttareṇa — to the south / north
• Adhaḥ / ūrdhvam — below / above
• Prasṛtam — spread everywhere
• Viśvam idam — this entire universe
• Variṣṭham — the supreme

Overall Meaning:
This entire universe—before, behind, to the right, to the left, above and below—is Brahman alone, the immortal and supreme Reality.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary:
Śaṅkara states that this mantra obliterates all notions of plurality. There is no separate world, no separate beings, no separate God apart from Brahman. Direction, space, time, and objects are mere appearances superimposed on the one non-dual Reality. Any division—religious, social, or cosmic—arises only from ignorance (avidyā). Knowledge (jñāna) reveals that everything is Brahman alone. If all directions and beings are Brahman, no “other” exists to hate, dominate, or exclude.

yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ
kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim |
tadā vidvān puṇya-pāpe vidhūya
nirañjanaḥ paramaṁ sāmyam upaiti ||

యదా పశ్యః పశ్యతే రుక్మవర్ణం
కర్తారమీశం పురుషం బ్రహ్మయోనిమ్ |
తదా విద్వాన్ పుణ్యపాపే విధూయ
నిరంజనః పరమం సామ్యముపైతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• yadā — when
• paśyaḥ — the seer (the one endowed with insight)
• paśyate — sees, realizes
• rukma-varṇam — of golden / luminous nature (self-effulgent consciousness)
• kartāram — the cause (not a doer in the empirical sense)
• īśam — the Lord (inner ruler, not a sectarian deity)
• puruṣam — the indwelling Self
• brahma-yonim — the source of Brahman-manifestation / the cause of the universe
• tadā — then
• vidvān — the knower
• puṇya-pāpe — merit and demerit
• vidhūya — having shaken off, transcended
• nirañjanaḥ — stainless, untouched by impurities
• paramam sāmyam — the supreme sameness / absolute equality
• upaiti — attains

Overall Meaning:
When the seer realizes the luminous, self-effulgent Reality—the inner Lord, the indwelling Self, the source of the universe—then the knower transcends merit and demerit, becomes stainless, and attains the supreme state of absolute equality.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary
Śaṅkara begins by clarifying “paśyaḥ paśyate”—this is not sensory seeing, but direct knowledge (aparokṣa-jñāna). The seer realizes Brahman as self-luminous consciousness (rukma-varṇam), not as an object, form, or deity. The “golden” radiance indicates svayaṁ-prakāśatva—Brahman shines by Its own nature and illumines all cognition.

The terms kartāram and īśam are carefully interpreted. Śaṅkara insists that Brahman is not a doer like an individual agent. Brahman is called “cause” (kartā) only in a secondary, explanatory sense, as the substratum upon which creation appears through ignorance (avidyā). Likewise, īśa does not mean a personal god ruling others, but the inner Self that appears as the ruler so long as duality is assumed.

By calling Brahman puruṣa and brahma-yoni, the Upaniṣad unifies individual and cosmic reality. The same Self that appears as the experiencer in the body is the source of the entire universe. There is no separate jīva and Īśvara at the level of truth—this distinction belongs only to ignorance.

When this knowledge dawns, Śaṅkara explains, puṇya and pāpa are destroyed. They do not “fall away” by action, but by knowledge, because karma belongs only to the false identification with body and mind. When that identification is negated, there is no agent left to own karma.

The knower becomes nirañjanaḥ—untainted. Śaṅkara stresses that impurity is not moral dirt but ignorance-born limitation. With ignorance gone, the Self is revealed as ever pure.

Finally, paramaṁ sāmyam is crucial. Śaṅkara interprets this as absolute non-difference—not social equality, not moral parity, but identity with Brahman itself. There is no higher and lower, no ruler and ruled, no saved and unsaved. The knower attains sameness with all because only the Self remains.

Thus, liberation is not a movement, reward, or status—it is the collapse of all difference into non-dual Being.

When Brahman is known as one’s own Self, all karma dissolves, all impurity ends, and absolute non-dual equality alone remains.

Om ity etad akṣaram idaṁ sarvaṁ
tasyopavyākhyānaṁ
bhūtaṁ bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam omkāra eva
yaccānyat trikālātītaṁ tad apy omkāra eva

ఓమిత్యేతదక్షరమిదం సర్వం
తస్యోపవ్యాఖ్యానం |
భూతం భవద్భవిష్యదితి సర్వమోంకార ఏవ ||
యచ్చాన్యత్త్రికాలాతీతం తదప్యోంకార ఏవ || 1 ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Om — the syllable Om
• Iti etat akṣaram — this imperishable sound
• Idam sarvam — is all this (entire existence)
• Tasya upavyākhyānam — its explanation is as follows
• Bhūtam — past
• Bhavat — present
• Bhaviṣyat — future
• Iti sarvam — all this
• Omkāra eva — is Om alone
• Yat ca anyat — whatever else
• Trikāla-atītam — beyond the three times
• Tat api — that too
• Omkāra eva — is Om alone

Overall Meaning:
Om is this entire universe.
All that exists — the past, the present, and the future — is nothing but Om.
Even that which transcends time, which is beyond past, present, and future, is also Om alone.

Thus, Om is not merely a sound, but the totality of existence, including both the manifest world and the timeless Absolute.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra establishes Om as the direct symbol (pratīka) of Brahman, the non-dual Absolute Reality. The Upaniṣad does not treat Om as a ritual syllable or a devotional utterance, but as the comprehensive designation of Brahman itself, encompassing all levels of experience.

Everything that is conditioned by time — the entire empirical universe consisting of past, present, and future — is a manifestation of Om. At the same time, Brahman is not exhausted by temporal existence. Therefore, the mantra explicitly adds that whatever transcends time (trikālātīta) — that which is beyond causation, change, and limitation — is also Om alone.

Śaṅkara emphasizes that this teaching removes the false division between the world and Brahman. The universe is not separate from Brahman; it is Brahman appearing through name and form. Om serves as a single contemplative support through which the seeker can move from the gross (external sound) to the subtle (inner awareness) and finally to the causal and transcendental Reality.

By equating Om with all that is, including the timeless, the Upaniṣad prepares the aspirant for the later analysis of the four states of consciousness. Om becomes the gateway to Self-Knowledge, guiding the mind from multiplicity to non-duality (Advaita).

In Śaṅkara’s vision, meditation on Om, when accompanied by right knowledge, culminates in the direct realization that Ātman and Brahman are one and the same, and that this very Self is the substratum of the entire cosmos.

Sarvaṁ hy etad brahma
ayam ātmā brahma
so’yam ātmā catuṣpāt

సర్వం హ్యేతద్ బ్రహ్మ
అయమాత్మా బ్రహ్మ |
సోऽయమాత్మా చతుష్పాత్ || 1.2 ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Sarvam hi etat — all this indeed
• Brahma — is Brahman
• Ayam ātmā — this very Self
• Brahma — is Brahman
• Saḥ ayam ātmā — that Self is this Self
• Catuṣpāt — having four aspects (quarters)

Overall Meaning :
All this is indeed Brahman.
This very Self is Brahman.
That same Ātman, which is Brahman, appears as having four pādas (states of consciousness).

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra is the central mahāvākya-like declaration of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. It establishes absolute non-duality at the very outset, leaving no ontological gap between Brahman, the universe, and the individual Self. The statement “Sarvaṁ hy etad brahma” affirms that the entire universe — gross, subtle, and causal — is nothing other than Brahman, not something created apart from it.

By declaring “ayam ātmā brahma”, the Upaniṣad removes the most fundamental ignorance of the jīva — the belief that the Self is limited, individual, or separate. Śaṅkara emphasizes that this is not a metaphorical or devotional equation, but a statement of identity (tādātmya). The innermost Self experienced as “I” is identical with Brahman, the infinite, changeless Reality.

The phrase “so’yam ātmā catuṣpāt” does not introduce plurality into Brahman. Rather, Śaṅkara clarifies that the four pādas (quarters) are modes of experience, not divisions of Reality. The Self is described as fourfold only from the standpoint of empirical cognition — as the waker (jāgrat), dreamer (svapna), deep sleeper (suṣupti), and the fourth (Turīya), which is not a state but the ever-present witnessing Consciousness.

Śaṅkara cautions that the seeker must not mistake these pādas as separate entities. Just as one moon appears as many when reflected in water, the one non-dual Ātman appears as multiple states due to upādhis (limiting conditions). In truth, the Self never enters or exits any state; it merely illumines them.

Thus, this mantra serves as the doctrinal foundation for the entire Upaniṣad. Having first established identity (Ātman = Brahman), the text proceeds to analyze experience only as a method of negation (adhyāropa-apavāda), ultimately revealing that Turīya alone is real, and that the other three pādas are appearances within Consciousness.

In Śaṅkara’s Advaita, this realization culminates in mokṣa, because once it is known that the Self was never bound, there remains nothing to attain, nothing to renounce, and no second reality whatsoever.

Core Advaitic Assertions (Essence)

• The universe is not other than Brahman
• The individual Self is not other than Brahman
• The four states are experiential appearances, not divisions
• Turīya is the ever-free, non-dual Consciousness
• Bondage and liberation belong only to ignorance, not to the Self

Oṁ brahmavid āpnoti param |
tadeṣā’bhyuktā |
satyaṁ jñānam anantaṁ brahma |
yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ parame vyoman |
so’śnute sarvān kāmān saha |
brahmaṇā vipaściteti ||

ఓం బ్రహ్మవిదాప్నోతి పరమ్ |
తదేషాऽభ్యుక్తా |
సత్యం జ్ఞానమనంతం బ్రహ్మ |
యో వేద నిహితం గుహాయాం పరమే వ్యోమన్ |
సోऽశ్నుతే సర్వాన్ కామాన్సహ |
బ్రహ్మణా విపశ్చితేతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Oṁ — the sacred syllable Om
• brahmavit — the knower of Brahman
• āpnoti — attains, realizes
• param — the Supreme (Brahman)
• tat eṣā abhyuktā — this is that well-known definition (authoritative statement)
• satyam — absolute reality (that which never changes)
• jñānam — pure consciousness / knowledge itself
• anantam — infinite, limitless
• brahma — Brahman
• yaḥ — one who
• veda — knows
• nihitam — abiding, established
• guhāyām — in the cave (of the heart / intellect)
• parame vyoman — in the supreme space (of Consciousness)
• saḥ — that person
• aśnute — enjoys, experiences
• sarvān kāmān — all desires (in their fulfilled form)
• saha — along with
• brahmaṇā — Brahman
• vipaścitā — the all-knowing, the wise
• iti — thus

Overall Meaning:
The knower of Brahman attains the Supreme.
This is the authoritative definition of Brahman:
Brahman is Reality, Consciousness, and Infinity.

One who realizes Brahman as abiding in the cave of the heart, in the supreme space of Consciousness, enjoys all fulfillments, together with Brahman, the all-knowing Reality.

 Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita  
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra opens the Brahmānanda Vallī by declaring the direct means and result of Brahma-jñāna. The phrase “brahmavid āpnoti param” does not indicate a physical movement or attainment in time or space. Rather, “āpnoti” means recognition of one’s own ever-present nature. The knower of Brahman does not become Brahman; he knows that he always was Brahman.

The Upaniṣad then gives the lakṣaṇa (definition) of Brahman: satyaṁ, jñānam, anantam. Śaṅkara stresses that these are not attributes added to Brahman, but negations of limitation. Satyaṁ negates non-existence and change; jñānam negates insentience; anantam negates finitude caused by space, time, or object. Thus Brahman is pure Being-Consciousness-Infinity, not a qualified object.

When the mantra says Brahman is “nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ”, Śaṅkara clarifies that Brahman is not literally hidden in a physical heart. The “cave” refers to the subtle intellect (buddhi), where ignorance and knowledge arise. Brahman is called hidden only because it is veiled by ignorance, not because it is absent. The phrase “parame vyoman” indicates that Brahman is the supreme space, not material ether, but the all-pervading Consciousness in which even space appears.

Śaṅkara gives special attention to the statement “so’śnute sarvān kāmān saha brahmaṇā vipaścitā”. This does not mean the fulfillment of worldly desires one by one. Rather, when ignorance is destroyed, the sense of incompleteness itself is dissolved. All desires are resolved simultaneously because the Self is known as pūrṇa (complete). The liberated one “enjoys” all desires by transcending desire altogether, abiding as Brahman itself.

Thus, in Śaṅkara’s Advaita, this mantra establishes that liberation is not an event after death, nor a reward in another realm, but the direct fruit of right knowledge here and now. Brahman is not to be reached elsewhere; it is to be recognized as one’s own Self, ever-present, self-luminous, and free.

Core Advaitic Essence

• Brahma-jñāna is recognition, not attainment
• Brahman is Satya (unchanging reality), Jñāna (pure consciousness), Ananta (limitless)
• Ignorance hides Brahman; knowledge reveals what already is
• Liberation dissolves desire by dissolving incompleteness
• Ātman and Brahman are eternally identical

Ātmā vā idam eka eva agra āsīt |
nānyat kiñcana miṣat ||

ఆత్మా వా ఇదమేక ఏవాగ్ర ఆసీత్ |
నాన్యత్ కిఞ్చన మిషత్ || 

Word-by-Word Meaning

• Ātmā — the Self, pure Consciousness
• vā — indeed, verily
• idam — this (entire existence)
• ekaḥ eva — one alone, without a second
• agra — in the beginning (prior to manifestation)
• āsīt — was
• na — not
• anyat — anything else
• kiñcana — whatsoever
• miṣat — blinking, moving, or conscious as an object

Overall Meaning:
In the beginning, this entire existence was the Self alone, one without a second.
There was nothing else whatsoever, no other entity, no separate conscious or moving thing.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra establishes absolute non-duality at the very commencement of cosmological discussion. The Upaniṣad does not begin with creation, causation, or multiplicity, but with the primordial fact of oneness. The term “agra” does not indicate a temporal beginning in the ordinary sense; rather, it signifies a logical priority — the state prior to the appearance of names and forms.

By declaring “Ātmā vā idam eka eva”, the Śruti affirms that pure Consciousness alone existed, not as one entity among others, but as the only reality. Śaṅkara emphasizes that Ātmā here is identical with Brahman, not the individual ego. It is self-luminous, partless, actionless Consciousness, free from all distinctions.

The statement “nānyat kiñcana miṣat” is especially important. Śaṅkara clarifies that this negates all forms of duality — gross, subtle, or causal. “Miṣat” (that which blinks or moves) symbolically represents any conscious entity or perceivable object. The Upaniṣad asserts that no second thing, sentient or insentient, existed apart from the Self.

Śaṅkara further explains that creation is not the production of something new, but the appearance of multiplicity through Māyā (avidyā). The One Self appears as many due to name-form superimposition (nāma-rūpa adhyāsa), just as one rope appears as a snake in ignorance. Therefore, even after creation, nothing other than Ātmā truly exists.

This mantra thus serves as a foundational declaration of Advaita Vedānta, preparing the seeker to understand that bondage, creation, and individuality are appearances, while the Self alone is real. Liberation, therefore, is not reaching a new state, but the removal of ignorance about one’s eternal non-dual nature.

Core Advaitic Assertions 

• Before all appearances, only the Self existed
• The Self is one, without a second
• No independent object or individual ever truly existed
• Creation is appearance, not transformation
• Liberation is knowledge, not an event

Sa īkṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti

స ఈక్షత లోకాన్ను సృజా ఇతి ||

Word-by-Word Meaning

• saḥ — He (that very Ātmā described earlier)
• īkṣata — envisioned, willed, deliberated (not through eyes, but through Consciousness)
• lokān — the worlds (planes of experience)
• nu — indeed, now
• sṛjā — I shall create
• iti — thus

Overall Meaning:
That very Self deliberated:
“Let Me manifest the worlds.”

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya clarifies that the verb “īkṣata” (He saw / willed) must not be misunderstood as a mental or sensory act comparable to human cognition. The Self described in the previous mantra is actionless, partless, and non-dual. Therefore, this “seeing” is not a change in Brahman, but a figurative expression used by the Śruti to introduce cosmic manifestation in a manner intelligible to the seeker.

Śaṅkara explains that the Upaniṣad employs adhyāropa (deliberate superimposition) here. From the standpoint of absolute reality, Ātmā neither thinks nor creates. However, from the empirical standpoint, Brahman associated with Māyā is spoken of as the cause of the universe. The phrase “Let Me create the worlds” indicates the appearance of multiplicity, not a real transformation of the Self.

The term “lokān” (worlds) does not merely refer to physical realms, but to entire fields of experience — gross, subtle, and causal. Śaṅkara emphasizes that these worlds arise within Consciousness, just as dreams arise within the mind, without affecting the dreamer’s essential nature.

Importantly, the Upaniṣad does not say that something other than Ātmā was used as material for creation. This preserves non-duality. The Self alone appears as the universe, without undergoing division or loss, just as one fire appears as many flames.

Thus, this mantra bridges the transition from pure non-dual declaration (1.1.1) to provisional cosmology, without compromising Advaita. It prepares the seeker to understand that creation is an appearance within Consciousness, not an event that truly modifies Reality.

 Core Advaitic Insight

• Creation is introduced only for explanation, not as ultimate truth
• Ātmā does not act; action is attributed through Māyā
• Worlds are appearances within Consciousness
• Non-duality remains intact even while explaining creation

sa eṣa puruṣo’nna-rasamayaḥ |
sa eṣa puruṣaḥ prajñānamayaḥ ||

స ఏష పురుషోన్నరసమయః
స ఏష పురుషః ప్రజ్ఞానమయః

Word-by-Word Meaning

• saḥ eṣaḥ — that very same
• puruṣaḥ — Puruṣa, the indwelling Self
• anna-rasa-mayaḥ — constituted of the essence of food (i.e., the gross body sustained by nourishment)
• saḥ eṣaḥ puruṣaḥ — that very same Puruṣa
• prajñāna-mayaḥ — constituted of consciousness / intelligence (the knowing principle)

Overall Meaning:
That very same Puruṣa is of the nature of the essence of food—
and that very same Puruṣa is of the nature of consciousness (prajñāna).

In other words, the one Self appears as both the gross embodied being and the inner conscious principle, without becoming divided or modified.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that these two statements are not positing two different Puruṣas, nor are they introducing a real division within the Self. The Upaniṣad deliberately uses repetition—“sa eṣa puruṣaḥ”—to assert identity, not multiplicity. The same one Self is spoken of from two standpoints for the sake of instruction.

When the Śruti says “anna-rasamayaḥ”, it refers to the gross embodiment—the body that is born of food, sustained by food, and resolved back into food. Śaṅkara clarifies that this does not mean the Self is material or perishable. Rather, the Self is said to be “food-essence-made” only because it identifies with and illumines the body, just as space seems limited when enclosed in a pot.

The second statement—“prajñānamayaḥ”—reveals the essential truth. The Puruṣa is in reality of the nature of prajñāna, pure Consciousness, by which the body, senses, mind, and intellect are known. Śaṅkara emphasizes that prajñāna here is not a quality or function, but the very substance of the Self. Consciousness is not something the Self has; it is what the Self is.

By juxtaposing these two descriptions, the Upaniṣad employs the method of adhyāropa-apavāda. First, it allows the seeker to see the Self as associated with the body (anna-rasamaya). Then, it sublates that association by revealing the Self’s true nature as prajñānamaya, free from material limitation. The gross description is provisional; the conscious description is definitive.

Śaṅkara further points out that this teaching prepares the ground for the later mahāvākya of this Upaniṣad—“prajñānaṁ brahma”. The individual experiencer, when stripped of bodily and mental superimpositions, is discovered to be identical with Brahman itself. Thus, embodiment belongs to ignorance, while Consciousness alone is real.

Core Advaitic Assertions (Essence)

• The same one Puruṣa is spoken of in two ways
• “Anna-rasamaya” is a provisional, empirical description
• “Prajñānamaya” reveals the true nature of the Self
• Consciousness is not an attribute but the essence
• Body-identity is superimposition; Consciousness is Reality

prajñānaṁ brahma

ప్రజ్ఞానం బ్రహ్మ

Word-by-Word Meaning

• prajñānam — pure consciousness, awareness itself; not an act of knowing, but the very essence of knowing
• brahma — Brahman, the Absolute Reality, infinite and non-dual

Overall Meaning:
Pure Consciousness itself is Brahman.

Brahman is not something that possesses consciousness; Brahman is Consciousness itself.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mahāvākya delivers direct identity (tādātmya) between prajñāna and Brahman, leaving no scope for interpretation as attribute or quality. Prajñāna here does not mean a particular cognition, intelligence, or mental function. It signifies that by which all cognitions are known, the self-luminous Consciousness that never becomes an object.

Śaṅkara emphasizes that Brahman is often mistakenly conceived as an entity that knows or a cosmic intellect. This mantra removes that error. Brahman is not a knower among known things; Brahman is the very ground of knowing, prior to the division of knower, knowing, and known. Consciousness is not produced, modified, or extinguished; it is eternal, partless, and non-dual.

By equating Brahman with prajñāna, the Upaniṣad negates all materiality, negates insentience, and negates finitude in a single stroke. What is known as the individual experiencer (jīva) appears limited only due to upādhis—body, senses, mind, and intellect. When these superimpositions are removed through knowledge, the so-called individual is revealed to be Brahman itself, the same Consciousness that illumines the universe.

Śaṅkara further clarifies that this realization is not an experiential event in time, nor a mystical state to be attained. It is recognition—the firm knowledge that the ever-present witnessing Consciousness, which is evident in waking, dream, and deep sleep, is Brahman. Liberation arises the moment this ignorance is destroyed; nothing new is gained, because Brahman was never absent.

Thus, “prajñānaṁ brahma” stands as a final, irreducible truth in Advaita Vedānta: Reality is Consciousness, and Consciousness alone is real.

Core Advaitic Assertions 

• Brahman is not conscious; Brahman is Consciousness
• Prajñāna is self-luminous and objectless
• Individuality is superimposition; Consciousness is Reality
• Liberation is recognition, not attainment
• There is no second reality apart from Consciousness

sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma

సర్వం ఖల్విదం బ్రహ్మ

Word-to-Word Meaning

• sarvam — all, everything, the entire universe
• khalu (shortened as khalv) — indeed, verily (emphatic particle)
• idam — this (that which is directly experienced)
• brahma — Brahman, the Absolute Reality, infinite and non-dual

Overall Meaning:
All this—everything that is experienced—is indeed Brahman.

There exists nothing whatsoever that is outside or apart from Brahman.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra is a direct declaration of non-duality, not a poetic exaggeration or a devotional sentiment. The word “sarvam” is all-inclusive; it leaves no remainder—no object, no being, no realm that can be excluded from Brahman. By adding “khalu”, the Śruti emphasizes certainty and finality: this is a settled truth, not a tentative proposition.

Śaṅkara clarifies that the Upaniṣad does not mean the universe is an independently real substance identical to Brahman in a material sense. Rather, the universe is Brahman alone appearing as names and forms (nāma-rūpa) due to ignorance (avidyā). Just as clay alone appears as pot, jar, and plate without ceasing to be clay, Brahman alone appears as the universe without undergoing change.

The use of “idam” (this) is crucial. Śaṅkara points out that the Śruti does not refer to a distant, unseen Absolute, but to this very world that is immediately experienced. By doing so, it negates the notion of a God separate from the universe and also negates the idea of a universe existing apart from Brahman. There are not two realities—one sacred and one secular.

Śaṅkara further explains that this teaching is meant for constant contemplation (nididhyāsana). When the mind habitually perceives multiplicity, fear, desire, and sorrow arise. But when one firmly knows “all this is Brahman”, the perception of difference dissolves. What remains is non-dual Consciousness, in which there is no second entity to fear, desire, reject, or attain.

Importantly, Śaṅkara does not say the world is absolutely unreal (tuccha). Instead, it is mithyā—dependent reality. It appears, functions, and is experienced, but it has no independent existence apart from Brahman. Brahman alone is satyam (absolutely real).

Thus, this single mantra encapsulates the essence of Advaita Vedānta:
the universe is not other than Brahman, and Brahman is not limited by the universe.

eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ

ఏష త ఆత్మా సర్వాంతరః

Word-to-Word Meaning

• eṣaḥ — this, this very one
• te — your
• ātmā — Self, innermost reality
• sarva-antaraḥ — the inner essence of all, the indwelling reality within everything

Overall Meaning:
This very One is your Self — the innermost reality dwelling within all beings and all things

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra completes the vision introduced by “sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma”. After declaring that all this is Brahman, the Upaniṣad now removes any residual doubt by identifying Brahman as one’s own Self. The word “eṣaḥ” (this) is emphatic — it does not point to a distant cosmic principle or an abstract Absolute, but to this immediate, self-evident reality.

Śaṅkara emphasizes the phrase “ta ātmā” (your Self). The teaching is not that Brahman merely pervades you or resides within you as a separate entity, but that Brahman is what you truly are. The Self here is not the body, not the mind, not the intellect, but the witnessing Consciousness that illumines them all.

The compound “sarvāntaraḥ” is crucial. Śaṅkara explains that Brahman is called the “inner” Self of all not spatially, as though residing inside objects, but ontologically — as their very essence. Just as clay is the inner reality of all clay pots, Consciousness is the inner reality of all names and forms. There is no object, living or non-living, that exists apart from this inner Self.

Śaṅkara further clarifies that the perception of “inside” and “outside” itself belongs to ignorance (avidyā). In truth, there is no inside or outside in Brahman. The Upaniṣad uses relational language only to negate separateness, not to introduce division. When it is known that the same Self shines as the innermost reality of all, the sense of “otherness” collapses completely.

This mantra therefore destroys both external duality (world vs God) and internal duality (individual vs Brahman). Fear, conflict, and alienation arise only so long as one imagines that the Self is confined to one body. When it is known that the same Self is the inner essence of all, compassion becomes natural, and bondage dissolves.

Thus, “eṣa ta ātmā sarvāntaraḥ” stands as a direct Advaitic revelation:
the universe is Brahman, and that Brahman is your own Self, shining as the one Consciousness within all appearances.

Core Advaitic Insight

• Brahman is not outside the world, but its inner reality
• The same Self shines in all beings
• Inside–outside distinction belongs to ignorance
• Seeing the one Self in all dissolves fear and division
• Liberation is knowing one’s identity with the inner essence of all

sad eva somya idam agra āsīd
ekam evādvitīyam

సదేవ సోమ్యేదమగ్ర
ఆసీదేకమేవాద్వితీయమ్

Word-to-Word Meaning

• sat — Existence, Being, Reality
• eva — alone, indeed
• somya — O gentle one (term of affectionate instruction)
• idam — this (entire universe now perceived)
• agra — in the beginning (prior to manifestation)
• āsīt — was
• ekam — one
• eva — alone
• advitīyam — without a second, non-dual

Overall Meaning:
O gentle one, in the beginning this entire universe was Existence alone.
It was one only, without a second, without anything else whatsoever.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra is a decisive declaration of absolute non-duality. By using the term “sat”, the Upaniṣad establishes pure Existence as the sole reality underlying the universe. This Existence is not a particular object, substance, or deity, but that which never ceases to be, regardless of change in name or form.

The word “agra” does not indicate a historical moment in time. Śaṅkara clarifies that it denotes logical priority, not temporal origin. It refers to the state before the appearance of multiplicity, before the superimposition of names and forms. From the standpoint of truth, Brahman never enters into time at all.

By declaring “ekam evādvitīyam”, the Śruti eliminates every possibility of duality — not only gross multiplicity, but even subtle distinctions such as cause and effect, creator and creation, knower and known. Śaṅkara emphasizes that this phrase leaves no ontological space for a second reality. If a second existed, limitation would arise, and Brahman would cease to be infinite.

Śaṅkara further explains that later descriptions of creation in this chapter are didactic concessions, not final truths. The One does not truly become many. Rather, sat appears as many through nāma-rūpa, just as clay appears as pots or gold as ornaments. The cause remains unchanged, while effects have only borrowed existence.

This mantra prepares the ground for the repeated mahāvākya “tat tvam asi” that follows. If the universe originates from sat alone, and if the individual self is traced back to its essence, then the inevitable conclusion is identity, not difference. Liberation arises through the firm knowledge that the Self was never other than this one Existence.

Thus, Śaṅkara affirms that this mantra does not merely describe cosmology; it destroys ignorance at its root by revealing that multiplicity has no independent reality, and that Brahman alone is.

Core Advaitic Insight

• Existence alone is real
• Non-existence cannot be the source of existence
• There was never a second reality
• Multiplicity is appearance, not truth
• Liberation is knowing one’s identity with sat

neha nānāsti kiñcana

నేహ నానాస్తి కించన

Word-to-Word Meaning

• na — not
• iha — here (in this Reality, in Brahman)
• nānā — multiplicity, diversity
• asti — exists
• kiñcana — anything whatsoever

Overall Meaning:
Here, in this Reality, there exists no multiplicity whatsoever.
Not even the slightest trace of plurality exists.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra is one of the most uncompromising declarations of non-duality in the entire Śruti. The word “iha” (here) is crucial. It does not refer to a future state, a heavenly realm, or liberation after death. It refers to Reality as it is, right now, when known correctly. In Brahman, multiplicity does not exist at any time.

Śaṅkara emphasizes that “nānā” includes all forms of difference — difference of objects, persons, gods, worlds, causes and effects, knower and known. By adding “kiñcana”, the Śruti closes every possible loophole. There is not even the smallest second thing that can be admitted alongside Brahman.

Śaṅkara is careful to clarify that this mantra does not deny empirical experience. The world appears, functions, and is experienced due to avidyā (ignorance). However, appearance does not confer independent reality. Just as many ornaments appear in gold, or many waves appear in water, multiplicity appears in Brahman without ever becoming real.

This mantra therefore destroys the root of bondage, which is the perception of “otherness”. Fear, desire, karma, and saṁsāra arise only when a second thing is assumed. When it is known that no second thing has ever existed, there remains nothing to fear, nothing to desire, nothing to attain.

Śaṅkara states that liberation is not the destruction of multiplicity, but the knowledge that multiplicity was never real to begin with. This mantra does not instruct action or meditation; it reveals fact. When this knowledge becomes firm, ignorance falls away naturally, just as darkness disappears when light is present.

Thus, “neha nānāsti kiñcana” stands as a final verdict of Advaita Vedānta: duality is not removed — it is understood to be illusory.

 Core Advaitic Insight

• Multiplicity never truly exists
• Difference belongs to ignorance, not Reality
• Brahman is non-dual at all times
• Bondage arises from seeing a second

tat tvam asi

తత్ త్వమ్ అసి

Word-to-Word Meaning

• tat — That (Brahman, the ultimate Reality, the cause of the universe)
• tvam — thou, you (the innermost Self, not the body–mind)
• asi — are (denoting identity, not similarity)

Overall Meaning:
You are That.
The innermost Self is identical with Brahman, the Absolute Reality that is the source and substance of the universe.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that “tat tvam asi” is a statement of absolute identity (tādātmya-vākya), not metaphor, praise, or partial similarity. The word “asi” (are) establishes direct identity, leaving no room for dualistic interpretation. The Upaniṣad does not say “you are like That” or “you belong to That”, but “you are That”.

Śaṅkara carefully resolves the apparent contradiction between “tat” (the infinite, omniscient Brahman) and “tvam” (the seemingly limited individual). He explains that both terms are understood after discarding their limiting adjuncts (upādhis). From “tat”, cosmic attributes such as omniscience and creatorhood are negated. From “tvam”, limitations such as body, senses, mind, and individuality are negated. What remains after negation is pure Consciousness, which is one and the same in both.

This method is known as bhāga-tyāga-lakṣaṇā — partial negation leading to true meaning. When adjuncts are removed, there is no difference whatsoever between the individual Self and Brahman. Śaṅkara emphasizes that ignorance alone makes them appear distinct, just as space appears divided by pots.

The repetition of “tat tvam asi” throughout the chapter is deliberate. Śaṅkara notes that deep-rooted ignorance cannot be destroyed by a single hearing. Repetition is required so that the mind becomes firmly established in non-dual understanding, free from habitual identification with the body and world.

Importantly, Śaṅkara clarifies that this realization is not an experience to be produced, nor a future attainment. The Self is always Brahman. Liberation occurs the moment ignorance is destroyed by knowledge. There is no journey, no transformation, and no new state achieved—only recognition of what has always been true.

Thus, “tat tvam asi” is the culmination of the Upaniṣadic teaching: the universe is Brahman, Brahman is non-dual, and you were never other than That.

 Core Advaitic Insight

• The individual Self and Brahman are identical
• Difference arises from limiting adjuncts alone
• Identity is revealed through negation, not addition
• Liberation is knowledge, not action or experience

sa ya eṣo’ṇimaitadātmyam idaṁ sarvam
tat satyam
sa ātmā
tat tvam asi śvetaketo

స య ఏషోఽణిమైతదాత్మ్యమిదమ్ సర్వం
తత్సత్యమ్
స ఆత్మా
తత్త్వమసి శ్వేతకేతో

Word-to-Word Meaning

• saḥ — that
• yaḥ — which
• eṣaḥ — this (very subtle principle just spoken of)
• aṇimā — the subtlest essence
• etad-ātmyam — having this as its Self / essence
• idam — this
• sarvam — all (the entire universe)
• tat — that
• satyam — the Real, the True
• saḥ — that
• ātmā — Self
• tat tvam asi — you are That
• śvetaketo — O Śvetaketu

Overall Meaning:
That subtle essence which is the innermost reality of everything — this entire universe has That as its Self.
That is the Truth. That is the Self. You are That, O Śvetaketu.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra provides one of the clearest Advaitic definitions of the universe’s reality-status. The word “aṇimā” (the subtlest essence) does not mean something small in size, but that which is beyond sensory perception, free from all material attributes, and indivisible. It refers to pure Being-Consciousness (sat-cit), which cannot be objectified.

By saying “etadātmyam idaṁ sarvam”, the Upaniṣad declares that the entire universe has this subtle Reality as its very Self. Śaṅkara emphasizes that this is not a statement of pervasion, as though Brahman were spread throughout the world like butter in milk. Rather, it is a statement of identity: the universe has no essence of its own apart from Brahman. Just as all ornaments are nothing but gold, all names and forms are nothing but Brahman.

Śaṅkara clarifies that the universe is not denied at the level of experience, but its independent reality is denied. The world appears, functions, and is experienced, but it is mithyā — dependent on Brahman for its existence, just as a wave depends on water. This is why the Upaniṣad immediately says “tat satyam” — That alone is real. Reality belongs to Brahman alone, not to the superimposed forms.

The declaration “sa ātmā” removes the final possible misunderstanding. The subtle essence that is the reality of the universe is not something external or cosmic, but the very Self of the seeker. Śaṅkara explains that without this identification, the teaching would remain cosmological. With this identification, it becomes liberating knowledge.

Finally, “tat tvam asi” seals the teaching. Śaṅkara notes that the Upaniṣad does not stop at saying “the universe is Brahman”. It goes further and says “you are That Brahman”. Thus, the knower, the known universe, and Brahman are revealed to be one non-dual Reality. Ignorance alone creates the appearance of separation.

This mantra therefore represents the complete Advaitic resolution:
the universe is Brahman, Brahman is the Self, and the Self is not other than you.

yatra nānyat paśyati
nānyac chṛṇoti
nānyad vijānāti
sa bhūmā

యత్ర నాన్యత్ పశ్యతి
నాన్యచ్ఛృణోతి
నాన్యద్విజానాతి
స భూమా

 Word-to-Word Meaning

• yatra — where, in which state
• na — not
• anyat — another, something else
• paśyati — one sees
• na anyat — not another
• chṛṇoti — one hears
• na anyat — not another
• vijānāti — one knows / cognizes
• saḥ — that
• bhūmā — the Infinite, the Full, the Absolute

Overall Meaning:
That state in which one sees no other, hears no other, and knows no other — that is the Infinite (Bhūmā).

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra gives the most precise Upaniṣadic definition of the Infinite (Bhūmā). The Infinite is not defined by size, expansion, or quantity, but by the complete absence of duality. Where there exists even the slightest perception of “another,” limitation immediately arises. Therefore, absence of otherness is the defining mark of Reality.

Śaṅkara draws attention to the repeated negation “nānyat” — not another. Seeing, hearing, and knowing represent the totality of sense perception and cognition. By negating all three, the Upaniṣad negates every possible form of subject–object division. This means that Bhūmā is not a state where the world disappears, but a state where the idea of ‘otherness’ disappears.

Śaṅkara carefully clarifies that this mantra does not describe a state of blankness, unconsciousness, or sensory shutdown. The Infinite is not void (śūnya). It is pure, self-luminous Consciousness, in which there is no second thing to be perceived. Perception ceases not because Consciousness is absent, but because there is nothing other than Consciousness to be perceived.

He further explains that in ordinary experience, seeing, hearing, and knowing always imply a dual structure: a seer and seen, hearer and heard, knower and known. Bhūmā transcends this structure entirely. The knower alone remains, without division. This is why earlier in the same teaching it is said that in Bhūmā one becomes established in the Self alone.

Śaṅkara also links this definition directly to liberation. Fear, sorrow, and desire arise only where there is another. When there is no other, fear is impossible, because fear requires something second. Desire collapses, because desire requires something external to be attained. Thus Bhūmā is not only Infinite, but also perfect freedom and bliss.

This mantra therefore establishes that duality is the measure of finitude, and non-duality alone is fullness. Liberation is not a new experience added to life, but the end of the false notion of “otherness.”

Core Advaitic Insight

• Infinity is defined as absence of otherness
• Duality alone creates limitation
• Bhūmā is not void, but self-luminous Consciousness
• Fear and desire vanish where there is no second
• Liberation is the end of “another,” not the end of awareness

yo vai bhūmā tat sukham
nālpe sukham asti |

యో వై భూమా తత్ సుఖం
నాల్పే సుఖమస్తి |

Word-to-Word Meaning

• yaḥ — that which / whoever
• vai — indeed, verily (emphatic)
• bhūmā — the Infinite, the Full, the Non-dual
• tat — that
• sukham — happiness, bliss
• na — not
• alpe — in the finite, in limitation
• sukham — happiness
• asti — exists
  

Overall Meaning:
That which is the Infinite alone is happiness.
In the finite, there is no happiness at all.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra delivers a decisive verdict on the nature of happiness. The Upaniṣad does not define happiness by pleasure, emotion, fulfillment of desire, or favorable experience. Instead, it identifies bliss (sukha) exclusively with Bhūmā — the Infinite, non-dual Reality.

Śaṅkara stresses that the emphatic particle “vai” removes all doubt: only the Infinite is happiness; nothing else qualifies. The phrase “nālpe sukham asti” is uncompromising. Wherever there is alpam (limitation) — limitation by object, time, space, individuality, or relationship — there can be no real happiness, only temporary relief or distraction from sorrow.

According to Śaṅkara, pleasure derived from objects is mistakenly called happiness. Such pleasure is dependent, impermanent, and mixed with fear — fear of loss, change, or exhaustion. Because it depends on something “other,” it is intrinsically bound to duality. Duality, by its very nature, is limitation; limitation is suffering. Hence, the Śruti categorically denies true happiness to the finite.

Bhūmā, on the other hand, was defined in the immediately following section as the state “where one sees no other, hears no other, knows no other.” Śaṅkara connects these two teachings directly: absence of otherness is fullness, and fullness alone is bliss. Bliss is not an experience produced by contact with objects; it is the very nature of non-dual Consciousness when ignorance is removed.

Śaṅkara also clarifies that the Infinite is not something to be reached or created. It is the Self itself. When the Upaniṣad says “that which is Bhūmā is happiness,” it is implicitly teaching that happiness is not to be sought externally, but is to be recognized as one’s own nature once false identification with the finite is relinquished.

Thus, this mantra exposes the fundamental error of human life: seeking happiness in the finite world. 

The Upaniṣad does not advise moderating desires or refining pleasures; it negates the very foundation of object-based happiness. Liberation is not the acquisition of supreme pleasure, but the recognition that one is the Infinite itself, beyond all limitation.

 Core Advaitic Insight

• Happiness belongs only to the Infinite
• Limitation and bliss are mutually exclusive
• Object-based pleasure is not true happiness
• Non-duality alone is fullness
• The Self itself is Bliss

ātmānam eva lokam upāsīta

ఆత్మానమేవ లోకముపాసీత

Word-to-Word Meaning

• ātmānam — the Self (one’s own innermost reality)
• eva — alone, indeed (and nothing else)
• lokam — as the world, as the universe, as all realms of experience
• upāsīta — one should contemplate / meditate upon

Overall Meaning:
One should contemplate the Self alone as the entire universe.
There is no world apart from the Self, and no Self apart from the world.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra occurs at the culmination of the Bhūma-vidyā, where all forms of limited meditation are transcended. Earlier in this teaching, Sanatkumāra progressively dismisses meditations on name, speech, mind, prāṇa, and even cosmic principles as finite. Here, the Upaniṣad arrives at the final vision: the Self alone is the Infinite (Bhūma).

Śaṅkara stresses that “ātmānam eva” is decisive. The word “eva” excludes every object, deity, world, or concept as an independent reality worthy of ultimate contemplation. The seeker is not instructed to meditate on the Self inside the world, nor on a God controlling the world, but on the Self itself appearing as the world.

The term “lokam” does not merely denote the physical universe. Śaṅkara explains that it includes all planes of experience—gross, subtle, causal, heavenly, earthly, and psychological. To contemplate the Self as the world is to dissolve the subject–object division entirely.

Śaṅkara is careful to clarify that this is not a mental imagination or visualization practice. It is a knowledge-based contemplation (jñāna-niṣṭhā) grounded in the truth already revealed by Śruti: “sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma” and “tat tvam asi.” The meditation consists in firmly negating the sense of ‘otherness’ and abiding in the understanding that all perceived multiplicity is the Self alone.

When this knowledge becomes steady, Śaṅkara says, fear disappears completely, because fear always arises from a second entity. Desire also dissolves, because there is nothing outside oneself to be attained. This is why the Bhūma is defined earlier as that state where one sees no other, hears no other, knows no other.

Thus, “ātmānam eva lokam upāsīta” is not a preparatory or lower teaching. It is a direct expression of Advaita realization, suitable for one whose mind has been purified and prepared. In this vision, the universe is not rejected—it is reclaimed as the Self, and thereby rendered non-binding.

Core Advaitic Insight

• The universe has no reality apart from the Self
• The Self alone appears as all worlds
• True meditation is knowledge, not imagination
• Duality is negated, not managed
• Fear and desire end with the end of “otherness”

ātmā eva idam sarvam

ఆత్మైవేదం సర్వమ్

Word-to-Word Meaning

• ātmā — the Self, pure Consciousness
• eva — alone, indeed (and nothing else)
• idam — this (the entire universe directly experienced)
• sarvam — all, everything without exception

Overall Meaning:
The Self alone is all this.
This entire universe is nothing other than the Self.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Advaita Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya explains that this mantra is a final Advaitic conclusion, not a preparatory statement. After leading the student step-by-step through progressively subtler meditations in the Bhūma-vidyā, the Upaniṣad now collapses all distinctions and declares the truth without remainder: Ātmā alone is everything.

The emphatic particle “eva” is decisive. Śaṅkara notes that it excludes all second realities — objects, worlds, deities, forces, or principles — as independently existing entities. The Self is not one thing among many; it is the only reality, appearing as many due to ignorance. Nothing exists alongside the Self, outside the Self, or apart from the Self.

Śaṅkara clarifies that “idam sarvam” refers to this very universe that is experienced — not a transcendent realm apart from the world. The Upaniṣad does not ask the seeker to reject the world or escape from it, but to correctly understand its reality-status. The world is not denied, but its independent existence is denied. It is mithyā — dependent appearance — while the Self alone is satyam, absolutely real.

By declaring the universe to be the Self, the Upaniṣad removes the last refuge of duality. If the world were other than the Self, fear and desire would remain. But when it is known that everything that appears is the Self alone, there is nothing to fear, nothing to desire, and nothing to renounce. Bondage dissolves not by destruction of the world, but by the destruction of the false notion of “otherness.”

Śaṅkara further emphasizes that this knowledge is not a mystical vision or altered experience, but firm understanding (niścaya-jñāna). The Self does not become the universe; the universe was always the Self, mistakenly perceived as external due to ignorance. Liberation is simply the end of this mistake.

Thus, “ātmā eva idam sarvam” stands as a direct proclamation of non-duality, perfectly consistent with
“sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma”,
“tat tvam asi”, and
“neha nānāsti kiñcana.”

 Core Advaitic Insight

• The Self alone is real
• The universe has no existence apart from the Self
• Duality is an error of understanding
• Fear and desire arise only from seeing ‘another’
• Liberation is knowing that everything is the Self

brahma vā idam agra āsīt,
tad ātmānam evāvet,
ahaṃ brahmāsmīti |
tasmāt tat sarvam abhavat;
tad yo yo devānām pratyabudhyata sa eva tad abhavat,
tathāṛṣīṇām, tathā manuṣyāṇām…

బ్రహ్మ వా ఇదమగ్ర ఆసీత్
తద్ ఆత్మానమేవావేత్ “అహం బ్రహ్మాస్మీతి”
తస్మాత్ తత్ సర్వమభవత్
తద్యో యో దేవానాం ప్రత్యబుధ్యత స ఏవ తదభవత్
తథా ఋషీణాం, తథా మనుష్యాణాం

Word-to-Word Meaning

• brahma — Brahman, Absolute Reality
• vā — indeed, verily
• idam — this (entire universe now perceived)
• agra — in the beginning (logically prior to manifestation)
• āsīt — was
• tat — That (Brahman)
• ātmānam — the Self
• eva — alone
• avet — knew, realized
• ahaṃ — I
• brahma — Brahman
• asmi — am
• tasmāt — therefore
• tat — That
• sarvam — all
• abhavat — became (appeared as all)
• tad — That
• yaḥ yaḥ — whoever, whichever
• devānām — among the gods
• pratyabudhyata — awakened to, realized
• saḥ eva tat abhavat — he alone became That
• tathā — similarly
• ṛṣīṇām — among sages
• tathā manuṣyāṇām — similarly among human beings

Overall Meaning:
In the beginning, this entire universe was Brahman alone.
That Brahman knew Itself as “I am Brahman.”
Therefore, It became all this.
Whoever among the gods realized That, became That;
so too among the sages, and so too among human beings.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary 
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya treats this mantra as one of the most decisive Advaita declarations in all of Śruti. He explains that the Upaniṣad begins by establishing Brahman as the sole reality using the phrase “brahma vā idam agra āsīt.” The word agra (in the beginning) does not refer to a historical point in time, but to logical and ontological priority. It means that before the superimposition of names and forms, only Brahman exists — and nothing else ever truly comes into being.

Śaṅkara gives special importance to the phrase “tad ātmānam evāvet” — That knew Itself alone. 

This does not imply that Brahman lacked knowledge and later acquired it. Brahman is ever-self-luminous Consciousness. The statement is made from the standpoint of instruction, to show that Self-knowledge alone is the cause of manifestation appearing as multiplicity. There is no action, no creation, no transformation involved.

The mahāvākya “ahaṃ brahmāsmīti” is the heart of the mantra. Śaṅkara is explicit: this is not a devotional claim, not meditation, not imagination, but direct knowledge of identity (tādātmya-jñāna). The “I” here is not the ego, but pure witnessing Consciousness. When ignorance is removed, the Self recognizes itself as Brahman — not metaphorically, but literally and absolutely.

Śaṅkara explains “tasmāt tat sarvam abhavat” carefully. “Abhavat” (became) does not mean real transformation. Brahman does not change into the universe. Just as rope appears as snake, or gold appears as ornaments, Brahman appears as all due to ignorance. The world is therefore mithyā — not unreal like a barren woman’s son, but not independently real.

The final portion of the mantra is crucial for universal liberation doctrine. Śaṅkara stresses that liberation is not restricted by birth, caste, species, or status. Gods, sages, and humans — anyone who gains this knowledge becomes Brahman. There is no gradual becoming, no travel, no post-mortem attainment. Knowledge itself is liberation.

Śaṅkara concludes that this mantra establishes three irreversible Advaitic truths:

1. Brahman alone is real
2. The Self is Brahman
3. Liberation is knowledge, not action
   

This mantra therefore functions as a complete Advaita Vedānta in a single passage — ontology, epistemology, and liberation combined.

Advaita Essence of This Mantra

• Identity, not proximity
• Knowledge, not ritual
• No second reality
• World as appearance
• Liberation here and now

athāta ādeśo neti neti,
na hy etasmād iti nety anyat param asti;
atha nāmadheyaṃ satyasya satyam iti;
prāṇā vai satyam, teṣām eṣa satyam |

అథాత ఆదేశో నేతి నేతి
న హ్యేతస్మాద్ ఇతి నేత్యన్యత్ పరమస్తి
అథ నామధేయం సత్యస్య సత్యమితి
ప్రాణా వై సత్యమ్, తేషామేష సత్యమ్

Word-to-Word Meaning

• atha — now, therefore
• ataḥ — hence
• ādeśaḥ — the instruction, final teaching
• neti neti — “not this, not this”
• na hi — indeed not
• etasmāt — from this (Brahman thus indicated)
• iti neti — by negation (“not this”)
• anyat — anything else
• param — higher, beyond
• asti — exists
• atha — then
• nāmadheyam — designation, appellation
• satyasya — of the Real
• satyam — the Reality of reality
• prāṇāḥ — the vital forces
• vai — indeed
• satyam — are real (empirically true)
• teṣām — of them
• eṣaḥ — this (Brahman)
• satyam — is the Reality

Overall Meaning:
Now, therefore, the final instruction is this: “Not this, not this.”
For there is nothing beyond Brahman that can be indicated by negation.
Its designation is “the Reality of the real.”
The vital forces are real, and Brahman is the Reality of them.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya’s Commentary
Ādi Śaṅkarācārya states that this mantra delivers the most precise and uncompromising method for knowing Brahman. Because Brahman is not an object, not perceptible, not conceivable, and not definable by attributes, every positive description necessarily limits it. Therefore, the Śruti adopts negation (apavāda) as the only valid method.

The phrase “athāta ādeśaḥ” is crucial. Śaṅkara explains that this is not one teaching among many, but the final instruction (siddhānta) after all provisional explanations have been given. When the teacher says “neti neti”, he is not denying Brahman, but denying all that Brahman is not—body, senses, mind, intellect, prāṇa, causality, and even cosmic principles.

Śaṅkara emphasizes that “neti neti” is repeated deliberately. A single negation might leave subtle residues of objectification. Repetition removes both gross and subtle superimpositions. What remains after complete negation is pure self-luminous Consciousness, which cannot be negated because it is the very basis of negation itself.

The statement “na hy etasmād iti nety anyat param asti” is decisive. Śaṅkara explains that once everything objectifiable is negated, no higher reality remains to be sought. This refutes all notions of:

• a higher God beyond Brahman,
• a second Absolute,
• or a future spiritual attainment beyond Self-knowledge.
  

The expression “satyasya satyam” is one of the most profound Advaitic formulations. Śaṅkara explains that empirical realities such as prāṇa are called satyam only provisionally, because they function and appear consistent. But Brahman is their ontological ground, their Reality. Just as gold is the reality of ornaments, Brahman is the reality of all realities.

Śaṅkara makes an important clarification: neti neti is not nihilism. It does not lead to void or nothingness. What is negated is objecthood, not existence. Brahman remains as self-revealing Awareness, which cannot be denied without contradiction, because the denier itself is Brahman.

Thus, this mantra establishes that Brahman can never be objectified, defined, or limited, and that true knowledge is the removal of ignorance, not the acquisition of a new object.

Advaita Essence of This Mantra

• Brahman is known only by negation
• All attributes belong to ignorance
• No reality exists beyond Brahman
• Brahman is the Reality of all relative realities
• Liberation is the exhaustion of false identifications