Kena Upanishad: Verse 4.3

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तस्माद्वा इन्द्रोऽतितरामिवान्यान्देवान् स ह्येनन्नेदिष्ठं पस्पर्श । स ह्येनत्प्रथमो विदाञ्चकार ब्रह्मेति ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तस्मात् । वा । इन्द्रः । अतितराम्-इव । अन्यान् । देवान् । सः । हि । एनत् । नेदिष्ठम् । पस्पर्श । सः । हि । एनत् । प्रथमः । विदाम्-चकार । ब्रह्म । इति ॥३॥

Recitation with translationKena Upanishad 4.3

IAST Transliteration

tasmād vā indro ’titārām ivānyān devān sa hy enan nediṣṭhaṃ pasparśa | sa hy enat prathamo vidāṃ cakāra brahmeti ||3||

Translation

इसलिए इंद्र दूसरे देवताओं से आगे निकल गया। वो ब्रह्मा के सबसे करीब गया था। उसने सबसे पहले जाना और कहा कि यह ब्रह्मा है।

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Academic Translation

Therefore Indra, as it were, surpassed the other gods; for he indeed touched It most nearly. For he indeed was the first to come to know It as ‘Brahman’.

Verse Context

• Brahma-jñāna (recognition of Brahman) and adhikāra (fitness/priority through proximity)
• Mahavakya: Indirect—supports the epistemic movement toward ‘aham brahmāsmi’/‘tat tvam asi’ by identifying the object of realization as Brahman; not itself a Mahāvākya.
• Sama
• Talavakara (Jaiminiya) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose