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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 15
॥
Devanāgarī
नानोपनिषदभ्यासः स्वाध्यायो यज्ञ ईरितः । ओंइत्यात्मानमव्यग्रो ब्रह्मण्यग्ना जुहोति यत्
Transliteration (IAST)
nānopaniṣadabhyāsaḥ svādhyāyo yajña īritaḥ | oṃityātmānamavyagro brahmaṇyagnā juhoti yat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नाना-उपनिषद्-अभ्यासःnānā-upaniṣad-abhyāsaḥthe study of various upaniṣads
स्वाध्यायः यज्ञः ईरितःsvādhyāyaḥ yajñaḥ īritaḥis called the sacrifice of one's own study
ओं इति आत्मानम्oṃ iti ātmānam"oṃ" — himself
अ-व्यग्रःa-vyagraḥunhurried
ब्रह्मणि अग्ना जुहोति यत्brahmaṇi agnā juhoti yathe offers into the fire of brahman
Translation
"The study of various upaniṣads is called the sacrifice of one's own study; [when] the unhurried one offers himself, with the word 'oṃ,' into the fire of brahman …"
Version
aeef4f21b9a1 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A third sacrifice is named: svādhyāya, "one's own study." This word means literally "one's own learning" and in ancient usage meant the daily repetition of one's own branch of the Veda. It is worth noting that here it is defined as nānopaniṣad-abhyāsa, "the study of various upaniṣads"; that is, the object of study is named no longer hymns but upaniṣads.
This detail shows the date of the book's composition: it is late, and for it the Veda is already, first and foremost, its philosophical portion. Let us add the word avyagra, "unhurried," from vyagra, "occupied, agitated." A good definition: study must be performed without haste, and haste is named a hindrance even before inattention.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds svādhyāya and counts it among her nine occupations under the names smaraṇa and śravaṇa; but it is worth noting how her study differs. She reads aloud and together: for her, reading is a communal, not a cloistered, occupation; and that the quiet is heard by one, the loud by many, was discussed when reading the Varāha (5.68). Let us add what is worth remembering about the word abhyāsa itself.
It means "repetition to the point of habit," not "acquaintance"; that is, one is enjoined not to read the upaniṣads once but to read them constantly. And this distinction, to my mind, is familiar to everyone: what is read once is forgotten, and what is reread becomes one's own language.