Mandukya Upanishad 2 — Verse 2

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥२॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

सर्वम् । हि । एतत् । ब्रह्म । अयम् । आत्मा । ब्रह्म । सः । अयम् । आत्मा । चतुष्पात् ॥

IAST Transliteration

sarvaṃ hy etad brahma ayam ātmā brahma so ’yam ātmā catuṣpāt ||2||

Translation

இவை அனைத்தும் நிச்சயமாகப் பிரம்மமே; இந்த ஆத்மா பிரம்மமே. இதே ஆத்மா நான்கு பாதங்களைக் கொண்டது॥௨॥

Academic Translation

For all this indeed is Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This very Self has four quarters (four ‘feet’).

Verse Context

• Ātman–Brahman identity; four pādas (quarters) culminating in turīya
• Mahavakya: Directly expresses the mahāvākya ‘ayam ātmā brahma’ (Māṇḍūkya’s signature great saying).
• Atharva
• Atharva-veda (Śaunaka tradition; commonly transmitted as part of the Atharva corpus) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose