Verse 11

Prashna

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

य एवं विद्वान् प्राणं वेद न हास्य प्रजा हीयतेऽमृतो भवति । तदेषः श्लोकः ॥११॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

यः । एवम् । विद्वान् । प्राणम् । वेद । न । ह । अस्य । प्रजा । हीयते । अमृतः । भवति । तत् । एषः । श्लोकः ॥११॥

IAST Transliteration

ya evaṁ vidvān prāṇaṁ veda na hāsya prajā hīyate ’mṛto bhavati | tad eṣaḥ ślokaḥ ||11||

Translation

Wer, so wissend, den Prāṇa erkennt — dessen Nachkommenschaft schwindet nicht; er wird unsterblich. Hierzu lautet der folgende Vers.

Academic Translation

He who, knowing thus, knows Prāṇa—his progeny does not diminish; he becomes immortal. Concerning this there is the following verse.

Verse Context

• Prāṇa as the cosmic and individual life-principle; amṛtatva (immortality) through knowledge
• Mahavakya: Indirect—supports the Upaniṣadic method where knowledge leads to amṛtatva; can be read as preparatory to realizing Ātman/Brahman identity (e.g., ‘ayam ātmā brahma’).
• Atharva
• Atharvaveda (Paippalāda-śākhā) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose (gadya)