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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 32
॥
Devanāgarī
संन्यस्तमिति यो ब्रूयात्कण्ठस्थप्राणवानपि । तारिताः पितरस्तेन इति वेदानुशासनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
saṃnyastamiti yo brūyātkaṇṭhasthaprāṇavānapi | tāritāḥ pitarastena iti vedānuśāsanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
संन्यस्तम् इति यः ब्रूयात्saṃnyastam iti yaḥ brūyātwhoever says "renounced"
कण्ठ-स्थ-प्राणवान् अपिkaṇṭha-stha-prāṇavān apieven with the breath standing in the throat
तारिताः पितरः तेनtāritāḥ pitaraḥ tenaby him the ancestors are ferried across
इति वेद-अनुशासनम्iti veda-anuśāsanamsuch is the instruction of the Veda
Translation
"Whoever says 'renounced' — even with the breath already standing in the throat — by him the ancestors are ferried across; such is the instruction of the Veda."
Version
79321febde45 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a remarkable passage, and it is worth setting it apart: renunciation, uttered in the hour of death, is declared effective. Kaṇṭha-stha-prāṇavān, "with the breath standing in the throat," is the usual expression for the dying. That is, a single word, said when nothing more can be done, suffices.
This custom is still observed in India today: renunciation is given to the dying, and the person becomes a wanderer for an hour. It is worth examining why this is not a concession. If renunciation consisted in deeds — in walking, fasting, giving alms — then renunciation on the deathbed would be empty, for there will be no more deeds.
It follows, then, that it consists not in deeds but in something that can happen in an instant: a change of belonging. And this, to my mind, is the best explanation of this entire book: it has spoken of the staff, the thread, and the tuft — and here it shows that what decides is not the thing but the word about whose you are. The Vaiṣṇava side stands on this and has her own correspondence, and a famous one.
Ajāmila, discussed when reading the Varāha (5.p), uttered a name in his deathbed delirium, calling his son; and the Bhāgavatam (6) declares this effective. Let us add that both passages hold together and what guards against abuse: both speak of the last hour, not of calculation in advance; and the Bhāgavatam's qualification (6.2.10) about one who sins "on the strength of the name" was cited when reading the Varāha.