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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 10
॥
Devanāgarī
त्रिदण्डं वैष्णवं लिङ्गं विप्राणां मुक्तिसाधनम् । निर्वाणं सर्वधर्माणामिति वेदानुशासनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tridaṇḍaṃ vaiṣṇavaṃ liṅgaṃ viprāṇāṃ muktisādhanam | nirvāṇaṃ sarvadharmāṇāmiti vedānuśāsanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्रि-दण्डं वैष्णवं लिङ्गंtri-daṇḍaṃ vaiṣṇavaṃ liṅgaṃthe triple staff — the Vaiṣṇava mark
विप्राणां मुक्ति-साधनम्viprāṇāṃ mukti-sādhanamthe means of liberation for the inspired
निर्वाणं सर्व-धर्माणाम्nirvāṇaṃ sarva-dharmāṇāmthe extinguishing of all duties
इति वेद-अनुशासनम्iti veda-anuśāsanamsuch is the instruction of the Veda
Translation
"The triple staff is the Vaiṣṇava mark, the means of liberation for the inspired, the extinguishing of all duties; such is the instruction of the Veda."
Version
e159ebdabf77 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here it is stated directly what we foresaw when reading the seventh verse: the staff is called vaiṣṇavaṃ liṅgam, "the Vaiṣṇava mark." It is worth examining why three rods and not one, for the whole dispute lies in this. One rod signifies unity: the wanderer who bears it professes that there are not two.
Three rods signify that three are restrained — speech, mind, and body; and that the restrainer is, accordingly, a fourth, standing beside them. That is, the very thing a person carries in his hand is a stated doctrine: one rod says "I am That"; three rods say "I subordinate what is mine to Him." Let us add what is worth knowing from history, for it explains why the book insists so.
Ekadaṇḍa renunciation became predominant in India after Śaṅkara, and those bearing it grew far more numerous. The three great teachers — Rāmānuja, Madhva, and later the Gauḍīyas — held to tridaṇḍa; and Caitanya, upon accepting renunciation, took the staff and afterward broke it — something his followers still dispute to this day. It is worth noting also the phrase nirvāṇaṃ sarva-dharmāṇām, "the extinguishing of all duties."
Nirvāṇa means "extinguishing, blowing out"; here it is applied not to a person but to duties: with the acceptance of this mark, other obligations are extinguished. The same statement stands in the Gītā's most famous verse: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja (18.66); and this resemblance, to my mind, is no accident.