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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.8
॥
Devanāgarī
द्रागभ्यासवशाद्याति यदा ते वासनोदयम् । तदाभ्यासस्य साफल्यं विद्धि त्वममरिमर्दन
Transliteration (IAST)
drāgabhyāsavaśādyāti yadā te vāsanodayam | tadābhyāsasya sāphalyaṃ viddhi tvamamarimardana
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
द्राक् अभ्यास-वशात् यातिdrāk abhyāsa-vaśāt yātiswiftly, by the power of practice, it comes
यदा ते वासना-उदयम्yadā te vāsanā-udayamwhen you have the rise of habit
तदा अभ्यासस्य साफल्यंtadā abhyāsasya sāphalyaṃthen know the fruitfulness of practice
विद्धि त्वम् अमरि-मर्दनviddhi tvam amari-mardanaknow it, crusher of foes
Translation
«When the rise of habit comes swiftly to you by the power of practice — then know, crusher of foes, that practice has borne fruit».
Version
06b4d84ead07 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A sign is given, by which one knows the matter is progressing; and it is worth stating, for it is simple and testable. It says: when the good comes quickly and of itself — drāk, «swiftly», abhyāsa-vaśāt, «by the power of practice» — then practice has borne fruit. That is, the sign named is ease, not force.
This detail, I think, is exact and familiar to anyone who has learned anything. While there is no habit, the good is done by effort: one must remember, decide, force oneself. When the habit is there, it comes before decision: the hand reaches by itself, the word says itself.
And this, not the strength of intention, is the sign that the rut is cut. The Vaishnava side holds precisely this, and its own sign was cited at Jābāla-darśana (10.4): niṣṭhā, «steadfastness», stands as its fifth rung and is defined exactly so — when practice has stopped requiring compulsion. Add what follows from this for self-examination.
One must ask not «how much have I done» but «what did it cost me»; and the falling of the price is the surest sign that the matter is moving. And conversely: a person for whom the matter costs the same year after year stands still, however much he does.