सः ह उवाच विज्ञायते ह अस्तिहिरण्यस्य आपात्तं गोअश्वानां दासीनां प्रवाराणां परिधानस्य मा नो भवान् बहोर् अनन्तस्य अपर्यन्तस्य अभ्यवदान्यो भूद् इति सः वै गौतम तीर्थेन इच्छसा इति उपैमि अहम् भवन्तम् इति वाचा ह स्म एव पूर्व उपयन्ति सः ह उपायनकीर्त्या उवास
saḥ ha uvāca vijñāyate ha astihiraṇyasya āpāttaṃ goaśvānāṃ dāsīnāṃ pravārāṇāṃ paridhānasya mā no bhavān bahor anantasya aparyantasya abhyavadānyo bhūd iti saḥ vai gautama tīrthena icchasā iti upaimi aham bhavantam iti vācā ha sma eva pūrva upayanti saḥ ha upāyanakīrtyā uvāsa
Gautama said: "It is known that I have my share of gold, of cattle and horses, of maidservants, of coverlets and clothing. Be not stingy toward me, sir, in that which is abundant, endless, boundless." — "Then, Gautama, [ask] in the proper way." — "I come to you as a pupil!" — for by that word the ancients came to studentship. And he stayed as a student.
7e6d6c08c61d · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:25:01 AM UTC
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Gautama's answer is magnificent: "I have gold and cattle enough — do not be stingy with what is abundant, endless, boundless" (bahor anantasyāparyantasya): human gifts are measurable; he asks for the immeasurable. And the king names the price: tīrthena — "in the proper way, by the right approach": a mystery has one entrance.
And the formula sounds by which "the ancients came": upaimy ahaṁ bhavantam — "I come to you [as a pupil]"! A famous brāhmaṇa speaks the word of self-surrender to a kṣatriya — the second time in the Upaniṣads (Gārgya before Ajātaśatru, 2.1.14) that the rank of birth bows to the rank of knowledge. The infinite is not bought and not begged for — one becomes a pupil for its sake: the only currency a mystery accepts.