Kena Upanishad: Verse 2.2
नाहं मन्ये सुवेदेति नो न वेदेति वेद च । यो नस्तद्वेद तद्वेद नो न वेदेति वेद च ॥२॥
न । अहम् । मन्ये । सु-वेद । इति । न । उ । न । वेद । इति । वेद । च । यः । नः । तत् । वेद । तत् । वेद । नः । उ । न । वेद । इति । वेद । च ॥
nāhaṃ manye suvedeti no na vedeti veda ca | yo nas tad veda tad veda no na vedeti veda ca ||2||
Ta không nghĩ: “Ta biết rõ điều ấy”; cũng không nghĩ: “Ta không biết.” Ai trong chúng ta biết Thực Tại ấy (Brahman) thì thật biết; và cũng biết rằng nó không phải là đối tượng có thể biết theo lối thường tình.
I do not think, ‘I know it well’; nor (do I think), ‘I do not know.’ He among us who knows that (Brahman) knows it; and (he) knows also that (it is) not (an object) known (in the ordinary way).
- nāham → na aham
- suvedeti → suveda iti
- vedeti → veda iti
- nasta(d)ved(a) → naḥ tat veda (visarga sandhi: naḥ + tat → nas tat in saṃhitā)
- no na → na u na (no = na + u, Vedic usage)
- remaining repetitions are padapāṭha-like
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Brahman as beyond objectifying knowledge (aparokṣa-jñāna; limits of pramāṇa)
- The mahavakyas
- Supports the purport of ‘प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म’ by distinguishing immediate awareness of Brahman from conceptual/object-knowledge; also aligns with ‘अहं ब्रह्मास्मि’ insofar as Brahman is not an external object to be ‘known’.
- Veda
- Sama
- Shakha
- Jaiminīya (Talavakāra)
- Chandas
- Prose (Upaniṣadic gadya with rhythmic cadence)
Yoga and practice
Cultivates epistemic humility (viveka) in meditation; encourages neti-neti style inquiry, dropping conceptual certainty and nihilistic doubt; supports nididhyāsana on the witness-consciousness rather than mental images.
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