Verse 14

Aitreya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तस्मादिदन्द्रो नामेदन्द्रो ह वै नाम। तमिदन्द्रं सन्तमिन्द्र इत्याचक्षते परोक्षेण। परोक्षप्रिया इव हि देवाः, परोक्षप्रिया इव हि देवाः॥१४॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तस्मात् । इदन्द्रः । नाम । इदन्द्रः । ह । वै । नाम । तम् । इदन्द्रम् । सन्तम् । इन्द्रः । इति । आ-चक्षते । परोक्षेण । परोक्ष-प्रियाः । इव । हि । देवाः । परोक्ष-प्रियाः । इव । हि । देवाः ॥१४॥

IAST Transliteration

tasmād idandro nāmedandro ha vai nāma | tam idandraṃ santam indra ity ācakṣate parokṣeṇa | parokṣapriyā iva hi devāḥ, parokṣapriyā iva hi devāḥ ||14||

Translation

Hence he is truly ‘Idandra’—“the one who has seen/known this.” Yet he is spoken of as ‘Indra’ by a veiled name, for the divine is loved in the hidden and the subtle, not in the bluntly stated.

Academic Translation

Therefore his name is ‘Idandra’ indeed. Though he is ‘Idandra’, they refer to him indirectly as ‘Indra’; for the gods, as it were, delight in what is indirect—yes, the gods delight in what is indirect.

Verse Context

• Parokṣa (indirect/veiled expression) and the esoteric style of Vedic revelation; Indra as a name-form pointing to realized consciousness
• Mahavakya: Indirectly supports “प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म (prajñānaṃ brahma)” by linking ‘Idandra’ (the knower/see-er of ‘this’) with the divine principle; also resonates with Upaniṣadic preference for indirect pointers (lakṣaṇā) toward Brahman.
• Rig
• Śākala (Ṛgveda) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose