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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 26
॥
Devanāgarī
स्तेनः सुरापो गुरुतल्पगामी मित्रध्रुगेते निष्कृतेर्यान्ति शुद्धिम् । व्यक्तमव्यक्तं वा विधृतं विष्णुलिङ्गं त्यजन्न शुद्ध्येदखिलैरात्मभासा
Transliteration (IAST)
stenaḥ surāpo gurutalpagāmī mitradhrugete niṣkṛteryānti śuddhim | vyaktamavyaktaṃ vā vidhṛtaṃ viṣṇuliṅgaṃ tyajanna śuddhyedakhilairātmabhāsā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्तेनः सुरा-पःstenaḥ surā-paḥa thief, a drinker of liquor
गुरु-तल्प-गामीguru-talpa-gāmīa defiler of the teacher's bed
मित्र-ध्रुक् एतेmitra-dhruk etea betrayer of a friend — these
निष्कृतेः यान्ति शुद्धिम्niṣkṛteḥ yānti śuddhimattain purity by expiation
व्यक्तम् अ-व्यक्तं वाvyaktam a-vyaktaṃ vāmanifest or unmanifest
विधृतं विष्णु-लिङ्गंvidhṛtaṃ viṣṇu-liṅgaṃthe mark of Viṣṇu, worn
त्यजन् न शुद्ध्येत् अखिलैःtyajan na śuddhyet akhilaiḥone abandoning it is not purified by anything
आत्म-भासाātma-bhāsāwith all his own radiance
Translation
"A thief, a drinker of liquor, a defiler of the teacher's bed, a betrayer of a friend — these attain purity by expiation; but one who abandons the worn mark of Viṣṇu, manifest or unmanifest, is not purified by anything, with all his own radiance."
Version
73530780e2e0 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse finishes what the preceding prose said by way of a list, and finishes it more sharply: for the great sins there is expiation, but for this there is none. It is worth examining this claim closely, for it is dangerous and, in this form, to my mind, incorrect. Taken as it stands, it would follow that one who removes the mark is worse than a murderer, and that for him there is no way back.
This claim contradicts both common sense and this very literature. The Vaiṣṇava side holds, against such hopelessness, a verse worth citing in full, for it is her constant answer to every such passage. Bhāgavatam (11.5.42): sva-pada-mūlaṃ bhajataḥ priyasya tyaktānya-bhāvasya hariḥ pareśaḥ; vikarma yac cotpatitaṃ kathañcid dhunoti sarvaṃ hṛdayaṃ satām.
Translation: "of one who reveres the base of His feet, dear, having abandoned all else, Hari, the supreme lord, wipes away any wrong deed that has somehow occurred — for He is the heart of the honest." It is worth noting the word kathañcit, "somehow, by accident": it speaks precisely of a slip, not of calculation. Joining the two passages, we get, to my mind, the only correct reading.
The present verse speaks of one who has abandoned deliberately and turned away; the Bhāgavatam verse of one who has slipped and yet holds on. And the distinction between apostasy and a fall is a distinction of direction, not of weight: the first departs, the second falls forward, face first. Let us add that "purified by nothing, with all his own radiance" is well said: by his own powers he is indeed not purified; but the Bhāgavatam verse speaks of another's power, and so there is no contradiction.