The Upaniṣads / Māṇḍūkya / 2 Four feet
2
सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् sarvaṃ hy etad brahmāyam ātmā brahma so 'yam ātmā catuṣpāt
The line
All this is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). This self is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). And this self has four feet.
नेपालीमा
यो सब ब्रह्मन् हो र यो आत्मा ब्रह्मन् हो। अनि यो आत्माका चार पाउ छन्।
Where it sits
Mantra 1 said the syllable is all this. This mantra says that all is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), and that the self you can point to is that Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), and that the self is to be counted in four feet. The feet are 3, 4, 5, and 7. Mantra 6 stays with the third.
Split: sarvam (सर्वम्) + hi (हि) + etad (एतद्) + brahma (ब्रह्म) + ayam (अयम्) + ātmā (आत्मा) + brahma (ब्रह्म) + saḥ (सः) + ayam (अयम्) + ātmā (आत्मा) + catuṣ-pād (चतुष्-पाद्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| sarvam (सर्वम्) | nominative singular, neuter | All. Heard sarvaṃ (सर्वं). |
| hi (हि) | indeclinable | Indeed. It ties this mantra to the all of mantra 1. |
| etad (एतद्) | nominative singular, neuter | This. Agrees with sarvam (सर्वम्). Heard etad (एतद्) before brahma (ब्रह्म), and the two join. |
| brahma (ब्रह्म) | nominative singular, neuter | Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). The predicate. |
| ayam (अयम्) | nominative singular, masculine | This. Agrees with ātmā (आत्मा). After brahma (ब्रह्म) the a (अ) is swallowed: brahmāyam (ब्रह्मायम्). |
| ātmā (आत्मा) | nominative singular, masculine | The self. Nominative of ātman (आत्मन्). |
| brahma (ब्रह्म) | nominative singular, neuter | Brahman (ब्रह्मन्), again. The predicate of ayam ātmā (अयमात्मा). |
| saḥ (सः) | nominative singular, masculine | That one. Before the vowel, so (सो). |
| ayam (अयम्) | nominative singular, masculine | This. The a (अ) drops: so 'yam (सोऽयम्). |
| ātmā (आत्मा) | nominative singular, masculine | The self, the same one. |
| catuṣ-pād (चतुष्-पाद्) | nominative singular, masculine | Four-footed. catur (चतुर्), four. pād (पाद्), a foot. The nominative of the consonant stem is catuṣpāt (चतुष्पात्). |
The phrases
Three sentences. All this is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). This self is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). This self has four feet.
Hi (हि) carries the all of mantra 1 into the first sentence. The four feet are the next four mantras.
Sanskrit in this line
Brahma (ब्रह्म) plus ayam (अयम्) is brahmāyam (ब्रह्मायम्). Short a (अ) plus short a (अ) is ā (आ).
Saḥ (सः) plus ayam (अयम्) is so 'yam (सोऽयम्). A visarga after short a (अ), before a vowel, becomes o (ओ), and the vowel drops.
Catuṣpāt (चतुष्पात्) keeps the visarga of the stem as t (त्) in the nominative of this consonant stem. Before a pause you hear the t (त्).
Say it back
Say the three sentences, and say which word promises the count of four.