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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.9
॥
Devanāgarī
सन्दिग्धायामपि भृशं शुभामेव समाचर । शुभायां वासनावृद्धौ न दोषाय मरुत्सुत
Transliteration (IAST)
sandigdhāyāmapi bhṛśaṃ śubhāmeva samācara | śubhāyāṃ vāsanāvṛddhau na doṣāya marutsuta
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सन्दिग्धायाम् अपि भृशंsandigdhāyām api bhṛśaṃeven in a doubtful case, very much
शुभाम् एव समाचरśubhām eva samācarado only the auspicious
शुभायां वासना-वृद्धौśubhāyāṃ vāsanā-vṛddhauin the growth of an auspicious habit
न दोषाय मरुत्-सुतna doṣāya marut-sutathere is no fault, son of the Wind
Translation
«Even in a doubtful case — do only the auspicious, and very earnestly; for in the growth of an auspicious habit there is no fault, son of the Wind».
Version
6a37b474e70e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A rule is given for doubtful cases, and it is, I think, among the most useful in the whole book. It says: when it is unclear how to act — do the auspicious; and in the growth of an auspicious habit there is no fault. Worth examining why this is not a commonplace.
Such books usually advise restraint in doubt; and this advice looks cautious but is in fact dangerous: restraint too is an act, and it too cuts a rut — the rut of indecision. The advice here is: do good, even if unsure it is needed. The ground given is direct: the good, even in excess, does no harm.
The Vaishnava side holds precisely this, and its verse on this account was cited at Varāha (4.40): na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati, «one who does good, my friend, does not come to a bad end» (Gītā 6.40). That is, good done amiss is not held against one; and hence in doubt one should lean toward it. Add what is especially worth noting here.
This rule concerns actions, not judgments: doubting a thought, one must check it; doubting an action, one must do the good. And this distinction, I think, is worth holding onto, for confusing them gives either paralysis or credulity.