Kena Upanishad: Verse 3.4

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तदभ्यद्रवत्। तमभ्यवदत्—कोऽसीति। अग्निर्वा अहमस्मीति अब्रवीत्। जातवेदाः वा अहमस्मीति॥४॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तत् । अभ्यद्रवत् । तम् । अभ्यवदत् । कः । असि । इति । अग्निः । वै । अहम् । अस्मि । इति । अब्रवीत् । जातवेदाः । वै । अहम् । अस्मि । इति ॥४॥

Recitation with translationKena Upanishad 3.4

IAST Transliteration

tad abhyadravat. tam abhyavadat—ko ’sīti. agnir vā aham asmīti abravīt. jātavedā vā aham asmīti. ||4||

Translation

Lalu dia berlari mendekatinya. Ia berkata kepadanya: “Siapakah engkau?” Agni menjawab: “Akulah Agni; akulah Jātavedas.”

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Academic Translation

He ran toward it. It said to him: “Who are you?” He replied: “I am Agni indeed; I am Jātavedas indeed.”

Verse Context

• Avidyā/ahaṅkāra (self-assertion of limited power) contrasted with Brahman’s transcendence
• Mahavakya: Indirect—highlights the gap between empirical ‘I am’ (deity/ego identity) and the Upaniṣadic ‘I’ that is Brahman (as in the purport of “अहं ब्रह्मास्मि,” though not stated here).
• Sama
• Talavakara (Jaiminiya) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose