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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.19
॥
Devanāgarī
समाधिमथ कार्याणि मा करोतु करोतु वा । हृदयेनात्तसर्वेहो मुक्त एवोत्तमाशयः
Transliteration (IAST)
samādhimatha kāryāṇi mā karotu karotu vā | hṛdayenāttasarveho mukta evottamāśayaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
समाधिम् अथ कार्याणिsamādhim atha kāryāṇisamādhi or deeds
मा करोतु करोतु वाmā karotu karotu vālet him not do, or let him do
हृदयेन आत्त-सर्व-ईहःhṛdayena ātta-sarva-īhaḥhaving by heart taken up all striving
मुक्तः एव उत्तम-आशयःmuktaḥ eva uttama-āśayaḥfree indeed, whose vessel is the highest
Translation
«Let him not perform samādhi and deeds, or let him perform them: whoever has by heart taken up all striving — he is free, and his vessel is the highest».
Version
32b83698892f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a verse unexpectedly broad, and worth stating: mā karotu karotu vā, «let him not do, or let him do». That is, it is a matter of indifference to the free man whether he performs concentration and deeds. This position is common in such books, and dangerous at once; we examined the like at Varāha (4.24) and said that read literally it becomes a justification for anything.
Add here what limits it and what stands in the verse itself. It says: hṛdayenātta-sarvehaḥ, «one who has by heart taken up all striving». That is, indifference is allowed not to everyone, but to one whose strivings have been taken up inward; and this is a condition, not a license.
Add what the Vaishnava side holds on this account, cited at Varāha (4.24): a person who cites an inward state to justify an action thereby reveals that the state does not exist. Its own test is put from the other end: not «are you free within», but «what are you like with people». Add the word uttama-āśaya, «whose vessel is the highest».
Āśaya means «vessel, deposit», and in yogic usage it names the store of impressions, that is, that same storehouse of habits this whole chapter is about. That is, it is said: for such a one the very storehouse has become the highest; and this, I think, is more exact than «he is free of habits»: the storehouse is not empty, but what lies in it has changed.