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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 23
॥
Devanāgarī
तमेव धीरो विज्ञाय प्रज्ञां कुर्वीत ब्राह्मणः । नानुध्यायाद्बहूञ्छब्दान्वाचो विग्लापनं हि तत्
Transliteration (IAST)
tameva dhīro vijñāya prajñāṃ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥ | nānudhyāyādbahūñchabdānvāco viglāpanaṃ hi tat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तम् एव धीरः विज्ञायtam eva dhīraḥ vijñāyahaving known only him, the steadfast
प्रज्ञां कुर्वीत ब्राह्मणःprajñāṃ kurvīta brāhmaṇaḥbrahmin, let him cultivate wisdom
न अनुध्यायात् बहून् शब्दान्na anudhyāyāt bahūn śabdānlet him not dwell on many words
वाचः विग्लापनं हि तत्vācaḥ viglāpanaṃ hi tatfor that is the wearying of speech
Translation
"Having known only him, let the steadfast brahmin cultivate wisdom; let him not dwell on many words, for that is the wearying of speech."
Version
8651383a9f36 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is taken from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka (4.4.21) and was examined by us when reading the Varāha (4.33); no need to repeat the whole discussion. Let us repeat the main point: the advice is addressed to one who has already known — it says tam eva vijñāya, "having known only him"; and so to cite it to a student is to turn it into a ban on learning. Let us add here what was not said before and is relevant in this book.
This verse stands right beside the instruction to study various upaniṣads (15) and the list of daily readings. That is, the same book that commands reading also commands not dwelling on many words, and sees no contradiction in this. It follows that it reads the verse not as a ban on speech but as a ban on scattering oneself: not gathering words for the sake of words.
This reading, to my mind, is correct and is confirmed by the word viglāpanam, "wearying": it is not a word that wearies, but a multitude of words. The Vaiṣṇava side voices the same through a distinction cited when reading the Varāha: prajalpa, "idle talk," is counted among hindrances, while kīrtana, "proclamation," among the chief occupations. Let us add what stands in her practice in place of this rule and makes it achievable.
She does not count words but sets an object: speaking is permitted without limit, if one speaks of Him. And under such a rule the measure comes of itself: a person who has something to say does not fill his time with emptiness.