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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.38
॥
Devanāgarī
शोषयाशु यथा शोषमेति संसारपादपः । उपाय एक एवास्ति मनसः स्वस्य निग्रहे
Transliteration (IAST)
śoṣayāśu yathā śoṣameti saṃsārapādapaḥ | upāya eka evāsti manasaḥ svasya nigrahe
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शोषय आशु यथा शोषम्śoṣaya āśu yathā śoṣamdry it swiftly, as to drying
एति संसार-पादपःeti saṃsāra-pādapaḥthe tree of the round of existence comes
उपायः एकः एव अस्तिupāyaḥ ekaḥ eva astithe means is one alone
मनसः स्वस्य निग्रहेmanasaḥ svasya nigrahefor the subduing of one's own mind
Translation
«Dry it swiftly — so the tree of the round of existence comes to drying. There is but a single means for the subduing of one's own mind…»
Version
bbe567a092a3 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting the verb śoṣaya, «dry», from śuṣ, «to dry up». It does not say «fell» and not «uproot», but dry; that is, take away the water. This image is more exact than felling and worth stating.
A felled tree gives new growth from the stump; but one deprived of water stops growing on its own, and its root dies untouched. That is, one is told not to fight the tree, but to stop watering it; and the water here is saṅkalpa, intention, of which the previous verse spoke. The Vaishnava side accepts this image and has its own correspondence; and it was said at Jābāla-darśana (4.54), citing the comparison with fog and sun, that hindrances diminish not by struggle but because the person is occupied with something else.
Add what is said of the means: upāya eka evāsti, «the means is but one». The promise of a single means was examined at Jābāli (8), where it was said «by ash alone», and it was noted that the objection is aimed not at the means but at the word «alone». Here, however, the singleness is justified: if there is one root, there is one means; and the verses that follow, as we shall see, name four means, not one.