Verse 21

Sarvasara

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

नाहं देहो जन्ममृत्यु कुतो मे नाहं प्राणः क्षुत्पिपासे कुतो मे ।

नाहं चेतः शोकमोहौ कुतो मे नाहं कर्ता बन्धमोक्षौ कुतो मे इत्युपनिषत् ॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

न । अहम् । देहः । जन्म-मृत्यू । कुतः । मे । न । अहम् । प्राणः । क्षुत्-पिपासे । कुतः । मे ।

न । अहम् । चेतः । शोक-मोहौ । कुतः । मे । न । अहम् । कर्ता । बन्ध-मोक्षौ । कुतः । मे । इति । उपनिषत् ।

IAST Transliteration

nāhaṃ deho janmamṛtyū kuto me nāhaṃ prāṇaḥ kṣutpipāse kuto me |

nāhaṃ cetaḥ śokamohau kuto me nāhaṃ kartā bandhamokṣau kuto me ity upaniṣat ||

Translation

ਮੈਂ ਦੇਹ ਨਹੀਂ; ਤਾਂ ਜਨਮ-ਮਰਨ ਮੇਰੇ ਲਈ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ? ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਰਾਣ ਨਹੀਂ; ਤਾਂ ਭੁੱਖ-ਤ੍ਰਿਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਲਈ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ? ਮੈਂ ਚਿੱਤ ਨਹੀਂ; ਤਾਂ ਸ਼ੋਕ-ਮੋਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਲਈ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ? ਮੈਂ ਕਰਤਾ ਨਹੀਂ; ਤਾਂ ਬੰਧਨ-ਮੋਖ ਮੇਰੇ ਲਈ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ?—ਇਉਂ ਉਪਨਿਸ਼ਦ ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ।

Academic Translation

I am not the body; whence could birth and death be for me? I am not the vital-breath; whence could hunger and thirst be for me? I am not the mind-stuff; whence could grief and delusion be for me? I am not the agent; whence could bondage and liberation be for me?—thus (teaches) the Upaniṣad.

Verse Context

• Neti-neti; asanga-ātman (unattached Self); akartṛtva; transcendence of saṃsāra and even the notion of mokṣa as a change
• Mahavakya: Implicitly grounded in “ayam ātmā brahma”: if the Self is Brahman, it is beyond birth/death and beyond bondage/liberation; also echoes the Advaitic implication of “ahaṃ brahmāsmi”.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Śloka/anuṣṭubh-like (later Upaniṣadic metrical style).