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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 25
॥
Devanāgarī
यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः । अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते
Transliteration (IAST)
yadā sarve pramucyante kāmā ye'sya hṛdi śritāḥ | atha martyo'mṛto bhavatyatra brahma samaśnute
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्तेyadā sarve pramucyantewhen all let go
कामाः ये अस्य हृदिkāmāḥ ye asya hṛdithe desires that, in his heart
श्रिताःśritāḥhave lodged
अथ मर्त्यः अ-मृतःatha martyaḥ a-mṛtaḥthen the mortal, immortal
भवतिbhavatibecomes
अत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुतेatra brahma samaśnuteright here he partakes of brahman
Translation
"When all the desires that lodge in his heart let go, then the mortal becomes immortal, and right here he partakes of brahman."
Version
94a984b498b6 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is taken from the Kaṭha (2.3.14) and stands also in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka (4.4.7); one word in it is worth noting. That word is atra, "here." It says not "after death" and not "in another world," but right here; and so this whole class of books speaks of jīvan-mukti, "liberation while living," discussed in detail when reading the Varāha (4.21–4.30).
Let us add the verb samaśnute, "partakes," from aś, "to eat, to taste." This verb is remarkable: it says not "attains" and not "becomes," but partakes. That is, the relation to the highest is expressed by the word of eating; and this word presupposes that there is one who tastes and something tasted.
The Vaiṣṇava side points constantly to such verbs, and her rule was cited when reading the Varāha (5.57): grammar is more stubborn than doctrine. Let us add what she says about this verse on its own merits, for she examines it often. It says: the desires pramucyante, "let go" — in the passive voice, not "the person abandons them."
She holds this distinction important: it is not the person who releases them, but they who release him; and this is possible only when they have nothing to hold onto. Hence her means is not a struggle with desires: she holds that a desire stripped of its taste falls away by itself, while a desire suppressed by effort waits. And the Gītā's verse 2.59, cited more than once, is, in essence, an explanation of precisely this passive voice.