Prashna Upanishad: Verse 2.3

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तान् वरिष्ठः प्राण उवाच । मा मोहमापद्यथ अहमेवैतत् पञ्चधाऽऽत्मानं प्रविभज्यैतद्बाणमवष्टभ्य विधारयामीति तेऽश्रद्दधाना बभूवुः ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तान् । वरिष्ठः । प्राणः । उवाच । मा । मोहम् । आपद्यथ । अहम् । एव । एतत् । पञ्चधा । आत्मानम् । प्रविभज्य । एतत् । बाणम् । अवष्टभ्य । विधारयामि । इति । ते । अश्रद्दधानाः । बभूवुḥ ॥३॥

Recitation with translationPrashna Upanishad 2.3

IAST Transliteration

tān variṣṭhaḥ prāṇa uvāca | mā mohamāpadyatha aham evaitat pañcadhātmānaṃ pravibhajyaitadbāṇamavaṣṭabhya vidhārayāmīti te'śraddadhānā babhūvuḥ ||3||

Translation

Kepada mereka, Prana yang utama berkata: 'Janganlah jatuh ke dalam kekeliruan. Aku sendiri, dengan membagi diriku menjadi lima, menopang tiang/anak panah ini, memegangnya dengan teguh.' Mereka tidak mempercayai-Nya.

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Academic Translation

To them, the chief Prana said: 'Do not fall into delusion. I myself, dividing myself fivefold, support this pillar/arrow, holding it firm.' They did not believe him.

Verse Context

• Supremacy of Prana over all sense organs and elements; the fivefold division of the vital force; the delusion of individual faculties regarding their independent existence
• Mahavakya: While not a Mahavakya itself, this mantra anticipates the theme of Ayam Atma Brahma (This Self is Brahman) by showing that the singular Prana, dividing itself fivefold, sustains the entire embodied existence, mirroring how Brahman manifests as the multiplicity of the universe
• Atharva Veda
• Pippalada Shakha
• Chandas: Prose (Gadya)