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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 6
॥
Devanāgarī
त्यक्तेषणो ह्यनृणस्तं विदित्वा मौनी वसेदाश्रमे यत्र कुत्र । अथाश्रमं चरमं सम्प्रविश्य यथोपपत्तिं पञ्चमात्रां दधानः
Transliteration (IAST)
tyakteṣaṇo hyanṛṇastaṃ viditvā maunī vasedāśrame yatra kutra | athāśramaṃ caramaṃ sampraviśya yathopapattiṃ pañcamātrāṃ dadhānaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्यक्त-एषणः हि अ-नृणःtyakta-eṣaṇaḥ hi a-nṛṇaḥhaving abandoned seeking, owing no one
तं विदित्वाtaṃ viditvāhaving known it
मौनी वसेत् आश्रमेmaunī vaset āśramethe silent one, let him dwell in any shelter
यत्र कुत्रyatra kutrawhatsoever
अथ आश्रमं चरमंatha āśramaṃ caramaṃthen, in the final shelter
सम्प्रविश्यsampraviśyahaving entered
यथा-उपपत्तिंyathā-upapattiṃas far as possible
पञ्च-मात्रां दधानःpañca-mātrāṃ dadhānaḥbearing the five marks
Translation
"Having abandoned seeking, owing no one, having known it — let the silent one dwell in whatever shelter [he chooses]; then, having entered the final shelter, bearing, as far as possible, the five marks …"
Version
48bf42ae7bcd · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is worth noting two words that define the condition of entry. The first — tyakta-eṣaṇaḥ, "having abandoned seeking." Eṣaṇā means "seeking, thirst"; and in this literature three of them are counted, as was discussed when reading the Yājñavalkya: the thirst for offspring (putra-eṣaṇā), the thirst for wealth (vitta-eṣaṇā), the thirst for another world (loka-eṣaṇā).
The last is worth noting specially: even the thirst for heaven, that is, religious acquisitiveness, must be abandoned; and this requirement is, to my mind, the hardest of the three. The second word — anṛṇa, "owing nothing," from ṛṇa, "debt." The teaching of the three debts is ancient: a person is born indebted to the sages (paid by study), to the gods (paid by sacrifice), and to the ancestors (paid by a son).
That is, renunciation is not permitted to just anyone but to one who has paid; and this condition raises a barrier against one who leaves life without having begun it. The Vaiṣṇava side holds this condition and interprets it strictly; and that departure undertaken before settling the three debts is flight, not renunciation, was discussed when reading the Yājñavalkya (p4). Let us add the book's own qualification: it says yathopapattim, "as far as possible."
This qualification stands beside the five marks and means that strictness is measured against circumstances; and it is, to my mind, the best thing a code can contain, for a code without it breaks people.