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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 36
॥
Devanāgarī
गुरुरेव परो धर्मो गुरुरेव परा गतिः । एकाक्षरप्रदातारं यो गुरुं नाभिनन्दति । तस्य श्रुतं तथा ज्ञानं स्रवत्यामघटाम्बुवत्
Transliteration (IAST)
gurureva paro dharmo gurureva parā gatiḥ | ekākṣarapradātāraṃ yo guruṃ nābhinandati | tasya śrutaṃ tathā jñānaṃ sravatyāmaghaṭāmbuvat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
गुरुः एव परः धर्मःguruḥ eva paraḥ dharmaḥthe teacher indeed is the highest duty
गुरुः एव परा गतिःguruḥ eva parā gatiḥthe teacher indeed is the highest goal
एक-अक्षर-प्रदातारंeka-akṣara-pradātāraṃfor one who has given even a single syllable
यः गुरुं न अभिनन्दतिyaḥ guruṃ na abhinandatiwhoever does not honor the teacher
तस्य श्रुतं तथा ज्ञानंtasya śrutaṃ tathā jñānaṃfor him what was heard, and likewise knowledge
स्रवतिsravatileaks away
आम-घट-अम्बु-वत्āma-ghaṭa-ambu-vatlike water from an unbaked pot
Translation
"The teacher indeed is the highest duty, the teacher indeed is the highest goal. For him who does not honor the teacher who has given [him] even a single syllable, what was heard and likewise the knowledge leaks away, like water from an unbaked pot."
Version
05bb042146b9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A comparison is given with āma-ghaṭa, "an unbaked pot," that is, one shaped from clay but not fired. The comparison is excellent and worth examining, for it is more precise than it seems. An unbaked pot keeps the appearance of a pot: the same shape, the same size, indistinguishable from outside.
But it does not hold water: the water goes out through the walls, and slowly, so that one does not notice at once. More than that — the water dissolves it: an unbaked pot not only leaks from water but also crumbles apart. That is, it is said not "the knowledge will not enter" but "the knowledge will leak away and destroy its vessel"; and this, to my mind, is a precise description of what happens to a learned but irreverent person.
Let us add the words eka-akṣara-pradātāram, "who has given even a single syllable." That is, the measure of gratitude is not proportioned to the amount received: one who gave a single syllable is a teacher on a par with one who taught for years. This rule is fundamental in Vaiṣṇava practice and is voiced through śikṣā-guru, "instructing teachers," of whom there can be many; they were discussed when reading the Prāṇāgnihotra (3.3).
Let us add the first half of the verse, worth mentioning specially: gurur eva paro dharmo gurur eva parā gatiḥ. This statement is sharp: the teacher is called the highest duty and the highest goal. It should be read as the Vaiṣṇava side reads it and as the next verse will say: the teacher does not replace the Lord, but is the one through whom one comes to Him; and the thirty-seventh verse will state this directly, placing deve before gurau.