Upanishads · Muṇḍaka 3.2.2
॥
Devanāgarī
कामान् यः कामयते मन्यमानः स कामभिः जायते तत्र तत्र ।
पर्याप्तकामस्य कृतात्मनः तु इह एव सर्वे प्रविलीयन्ति कामाः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ sa kāmabhiḥ jāyate tatra tatra |
paryāptakāmasya kṛtātmanaḥ tu iha eva sarve pravilīyanti kāmāḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कामान्kāmāndesires; the objects of desire
यःyaḥwho; the one who
कामयतेkāmayatedesires (from √kam); craves; longs for
मन्यमानःmanyamānaḥwhile pondering (from √man); cherishing in thought; considering
सःsaḥhe; such
कामभिःkāmabhiḥby his desires (kāma, instrumental plural); by the force of desires; through desires
जायतेjāyateis born; appears
तत्र तत्रtatra tatrahere and there (tatra tatra); now there, now here; in various places [of birth]
पर्याप्तकामस्यparyāptakāmasyaof one whose desires are satisfied (paryāpta-kāma); of one whose desires are filled to the brim; of the fully-desired
कृतात्मनः तुkṛtātmanaḥ tubut of one who has perfected himself; of the purified
इह एवiha evahere indeed; already here
सर्वेsarveall; entirely
प्रविलीयन्तिpravilīyantidissolve away (pra-vi-√lī); melt; vanish without remainder
कामाःkāmāḥdesires; the cravings
Translation
He who desires desires, dwelling on them, is born by his desires here and there. But for him whose desires are fulfilled, who has perfected himself, all desires dissolve away right here.
Version
061d0128103f · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:10:40 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mechanics of rebirth in two lines. kāmān yaḥ kāmayate manyamānaḥ — "who desires desires, dwelling [on them]": manyamāna — nursing desires with the mind: a desire manured with reflection becomes a destiny; sa kāmabhir jāyate tatra tatra — "he is born by his desires here and there": not "after death he receives punishment" — he is simply born of his own desires: they are seeds (śukram — verse 54), and where their soil is, there is his sprouting. Every cherished wanting is an application for a future body.
paryāpta-kāmasya kṛtātmanaḥ tu — "but for him whose desires are filled to the brim, who has perfected himself": paryāpta — "fulfilled to the very edge": not crushed but outgrown: one who has found Fullness desires out of fullness, not out of a hole; kṛta-ātman — "one who has made his soul": who has finished the inner work. ihaiva sarve pravilīyanti kāmāḥ — "right here all desires dissolve": pra-vi-√lī — they melt like salt in water: not lopped off but dissolved in something larger.
The Upaniṣad is carefully exact: desires are not killed — they are fulfilled by the Highest. Thirst directed at Fullness drinks its fill for the first time — and therefore subsides; every other way of fighting thirst (suppress it, distract it, shame it) merely transplants it. Gītā 2.70: desires enter the sated man "as rivers enter the full ocean", without stirring him.