Skanda Upanishad: Verse 4
चिज्जडानां तु यो द्रष्टा सोऽच्युतो ज्ञानविग्रहः । स एव हि महादेवः स एव हि महाहरिः ॥४॥
चित्-जडानाम् तु यः द्रष्टा सः अच्युतः ज्ञान-विग्रहः । सः एव हि महा-देवः सः एव हि महा-हरिः ॥४॥
cijjaḍānāṃ tu yo draṣṭā so 'cyuto jñānavigrahaḥ | sa eva hi mahādevaḥ sa eva hi mahāhariḥ ||4||
जो देखने वाला है, जान वाली और बेजान चीज़ों को, वो अक्षय है। उसका रूप ही ज्ञान है। वही महादेव है, वही भगवान विष्णु है।
But he who is the seer (witness) of the conscious and the inert—he is the imperishable (Acyuta), whose very form is knowledge. He alone indeed is Mahādeva; he alone indeed is Mahāhari.
- cijjaḍānāṃ → cit + jaḍānām (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + ज् → ज्ज)
- so’cyuto → saḥ + acyutaḥ (विसर्ग-लोप/अवग्रह)
- अन्यत्र पदच्छेदः स्पष्टः।
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Sākṣī-caitanya (witness-consciousness) and non-dual identity of Īśvara/Brahman beyond sectarian forms
- The mahavakyas
- Supports the purport of ‘aham brahmāsmi’ and ‘tat tvam asi’ by identifying the witnessing Self as the one reality appearing as Śiva/Viṣṇu.
- Veda
- Krishna Yajur Veda
- Chandas
- Anuṣṭubh (śloka)
Yoga and practice
Practice sākṣī-bhāva: observe thoughts (cit) and objects/body (jaḍa) as witnessed; meditate on the witness as unchanging; reduce deity-form conflict by contemplating one Consciousness behind all iṣṭa-devatā forms.
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