Verse 1

Aitreya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

ॐ कोऽयमात्मेति वयमुपास्महे। कतरः स आत्मा। येन वा पश्यति येन वा शृणोति येन वा गन्धानाजिघ्रति येन वा वाचं व्याकरोति येन वा स्वादु चास्वादु च विजानाति॥१॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

ॐ । कः । अयम् । आत्मा । इति । वयम् । उपास्महे । कतरः । सः । आत्मा । येन । वा । पश्यति । येन । वा । शृणोति । येन । वा । गन्धान् । आजिघ्रति । येन । वा । वाचम् । वि-आकरोति । येन । वा । स्वादु । च । अस्वादु । च । विजानाति ।

IAST Transliteration

oṃ ko’yam ātmā iti vayam upāsmahe | kataraḥ sa ātmā | yena vā paśyati yena vā śṛṇoti yena vā gandhān ājighrati yena vā vācaṃ vyākaroti yena vā svādu cāsvādu ca vijānāti ||1||

Translation

ॐ। ‘এই আত্মা কে?’—এইভাবে আমরা উপাসনা করে জানতে চাই। আত্মা কোনটি? যাহা দ্বারা মানুষ দেখে, যাহা দ্বারা শোনে, যাহা দ্বারা গন্ধ গ্রহণ করে, যাহা দ্বারা বাক্য প্রকাশ করে, এবং যাহা দ্বারা মিষ্ট ও অমিষ্টকে বিচার করে—সেই আত্মাই॥১॥

Academic Translation

Om. ‘Which is this Self?’—thus we worship (seek to know). Which one is the Self? That by which one sees, that by which one hears, that by which one smells odors, that by which one articulates speech, that by which one discerns the sweet and the unsweet.

Verse Context

• Ātma-vicāra (inquiry into the Self) and the principle of consciousness behind the senses
• Mahavakya: Directly preparatory to Aitareya’s mahāvākya: the inquiry culminates in identifying the Self with prajñā (consciousness), expressed later as “prajñānam brahma.”
• Rig
• Śākala (Aitareya tradition of the Ṛgveda) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose