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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.15
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मात्सौम्य प्रयत्नेन पौरुषेण विवेकिना । भोगेच्छां दूरतस्त्यक्त्वा त्रयमेव समाश्रय
Transliteration (IAST)
tasmātsaumya prayatnena pauruṣeṇa vivekinā | bhogecchāṃ dūratastyaktvā trayameva samāśraya
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्मात् सौम्य प्रयत्नेनtasmāt saumya prayatnenatherefore, dear one, by effort
पौरुषेण विवेकिनाpauruṣeṇa vivekināhuman, with discernment
भोग-इच्छां दूरतः त्यक्त्वाbhoga-icchāṃ dūrataḥ tyaktvāhaving abandoned the desire for enjoyment from afar
त्रयम् एव समाश्रयtrayam eva samāśrayato the three take refuge
Translation
«Therefore, dear one, by human effort, with discernment, having abandoned the desire for enjoyment from afar — take refuge in these three».
Version
279f4d99bf53 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting the phrase dūrataḥ tyaktvā, «abandoned from afar». Literally «abandoned from a distance»; that is, desire must be abandoned without approaching it. This detail, I think, is exact and checkable by anyone.
A desire one has approached is hard to abandon: near it, it seems needed and finds arguments. That same desire, abandoned from afar — that is, while it has not yet drawn near — is abandoned easily and without dispute. Hence the advice: do not let it near, rather than fighting once let near.
The Vaishnava side holds precisely this, and its own rule was cited at Kṛṣṇa-upaniṣad (2.15): it arranges company and daily life so that occasions are fewer; and this is, in essence, the same thing — abandonment from afar. Add the verb samāśraya, «take refuge», with which the verse ends. It was noted at Varāha (5.57) and Muktikā (1.7) that this verb is a verb of refuge and presupposes the one in whom refuge is taken.
Here it is applied to three practices; and this is the same construction as in the first chapter, where refuge was to be taken in vedānta. That is, even in a chapter on working with oneself, the language remains the language of refuge; and that grammar is more stubborn than doctrine has been said before.