Ishavasya Upanishad 3 — Verse 3

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः । ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

असुर्याः । नाम । ते । लोकाः । अन्धेन । तमसा । आवृताः । तान् । ते । प्रेत्य । अभिगच्छन्ति । ये । के । च । आत्म-हनः । जनाः ।

IAST Transliteration

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasā 'vṛtāḥ | tāṃs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ ||3||

Translation

அந்த உலகங்கள் ‘அசூர்ய’ எனப்படுகின்றன; அவை குருட்டுத் தமஸால் மூடப்பட்டவை. ஆத்மஹந்தர்கள் மரணத்திற்குப் பின் அவற்றிற்கே செல்வர்.

Academic Translation

Those worlds are called ‘sunless,’ covered by blinding darkness. To them, after death, go those people who are slayers of the Self.

Verse Context

• Avidyā (ignorance) and ātma-han (self-negation); bondage leading to dark states; necessity of Self-knowledge
• Mahavakya: Negative (apophatic) support: warns that failure to realize the Self (implicit in mahāvākya insight) results in darkness; motivates pursuit of ‘tat tvam asi’/‘aham brahmāsmi’ realization.
• Yajurveda
• Shukla (Vajasaneyi) Yajurveda; Madhyandina/Kanva recensions Shakha
• Chandas: Prose (Yajurvedic mantra style)