Verse 2

Mahavakya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

अथ होवाच भगवान् ब्रह्मा—अपरोक्षानुभवपरोपनिषदं व्याख्यास्यामः। गुह्याद् गुह्यपरमेषा न प्राकृतायोपदेष्टव्या। सात्त्विकायान्तर्मुखाय परिशुश्रूषवे॥१–२॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

अथ । होवाच । भगवान् । ब्रह्मा । अपरोक्ष-अनुभव-पर-उपनिषदम् । व्याख्यास्यामः । गुह्यात् । गुह्य-परमा । एषा । न । प्राकृताय । उपदेष्टव्या । सात्त्विकाय । अन्तर्मुखाय । परिशुश्रूषवे ॥

IAST Transliteration

atha hovāca bhagavān brahmā—aparokṣānubhavaparopaniṣadaṃ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ | guhyād guhyaparamaiṣā na prākṛtāyopadeṣṭavyā | sāttvikāyāntarmukhāya pariśuśrūṣave ||1–2||

Translation

Then the Blessed Brahmā said: “We shall expound the Upaniṣad whose supreme purport is direct, immediate realization. This teaching is the most secret among secrets; it is not to be imparted to one who is worldly and unrefined. It is to be given to one who is sāttvika, inward-turned, and devoted to attentive listening.”

Academic Translation

Then the Blessed Brahmā said: “We shall expound the Upaniṣad whose supreme purport is direct (immediate) realization. This (teaching) is most secret among secrets; it is not to be taught to one who is ‘worldly’ (unrefined). It is to be imparted to one who is sāttvika, inward-turned, and intent on attentive listening.”

Verse Context

• Adhikāra (eligibility) for brahmajñāna; śravaṇa as the gateway to aparokṣa-jñāna
• Mahavakya: Reiterates the context in which mahāvākyas function: they are to be heard by a prepared seeker so that sentence-knowledge becomes identity-knowledge.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Prose