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Upanishads · Muktikā 1.7
॥
Devanāgarī
साधु पृष्टं महाबाहो वदामि शृणु तत्त्वतः । वेदान्ते सुप्रतिष्ठोऽहं वेदान्तं समुपाश्रय
Transliteration (IAST)
sādhu pṛṣṭaṃ mahābāho vadāmi śṛṇu tattvataḥ | vedānte supratiṣṭho'haṃ vedāntaṃ samupāśraya
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
साधु पृष्टं महा-बाहोsādhu pṛṣṭaṃ mahā-bāho"well asked, mighty-armed one
वदामि शृणु तत्त्वतःvadāmi śṛṇu tattvataḥI shall tell you — listen, in truth
वेदान्ते सु-प्रतिष्ठः अहंvedānte su-pratiṣṭhaḥ ahaṃI am well established in vedānta
वेदान्तं समुपाश्रयvedāntaṃ samupāśrayato vedānta take refuge"
Translation
«“Well asked, mighty-armed one; I shall tell you — listen, in truth. I am well established in vedānta; take refuge in vedānta…»
Version
0b914f2fffc7 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is an answer that is, I think, one of the most remarkable statements in this whole collection: vedānte su-pratiṣṭho'ham, «I am well established in vedānta». It is Rāma who says this — that is, the very One vedānta is about. Worth examining what this means, for the phrasing is unusual.
One might expect «vedānta is established in me»; the opposite is said: I am established in it. The reading is this, I think: he keeps his own word; that is, what is said of him in vedānta is what he has bound himself by, and he does not depart from it. Add the second half-verse: vedāntaṃ samupāśraya, «take refuge in vedānta».
The verb upa-śri, «to take refuge», is the very one from which āśraya, «refuge», comes; and it was noted at Varāha (5.57) and Śāṭyāyani that it always presupposes the one in whom refuge is taken. Here it is applied to a book; and this joining is worth noting. It means that refuge in the word is refuge in Him — for he is established there.
The Vaishnava side holds precisely this: its śāstra is not information about God but a place where he is accessible; and hence it treats the book as it treats an image — bathing it, adorning it, carrying it. Add the phrase sādhu pṛṣṭam, «well asked»: the teacher praises the question before answering; the same was noted at Śāṭyāyani and Jābāli.