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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.39
॥
Devanāgarī
मनसोऽभ्युदयो नाशो मनोनाशो महोदयः । ज्ञमनो नाशमभ्येति मनो ज्ञस्य हि शृङ्खला
Transliteration (IAST)
manaso'bhyudayo nāśo manonāśo mahodayaḥ | jñamano nāśamabhyeti mano jñasya hi śṛṅkhalā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मनसः अभ्युदयः नाशःmanasaḥ abhyudayaḥ nāśaḥthe flourishing of the mind is ruin
मनः-नाशः महा-उदयःmanaḥ-nāśaḥ mahā-udayaḥdestruction of the mind is great flourishing
ज्ञ-मनः नाशम् अभ्येतिjña-manaḥ nāśam abhyetithe mind of one who knows comes to destruction
मनः ज्ञस्य हि शृङ्खलाmanaḥ jñasya hi śṛṅkhalāfor the mind of one who knows is a chain
Translation
«The flourishing of the mind is ruin, and the destruction of the mind is great flourishing; the mind of one who knows comes to destruction, for the mind of one who knows is a chain».
Version
998a4bcecb09 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is built on an inversion: abhyudaya («flourishing») is called ruin, and nāśa («ruin») — great flourishing. This device is favored in these books and serves to upset the usual judgment; the like was noted at Varāha (4.23), where «he wakes in sleep and does not wake in waking». Worth examining, however, what is said here in substance.
Abhyudaya is an ordinary word and means prosperity: means, standing, success. That is, it is said: the mind's prosperity is its ruin; and this observation, I think, is true. A mind that succeeds grows: it finds new desires and new arguments; and the better things go for it, the more firmly it holds.
Add the last half-verse: mano jñasya hi śṛṅkhalā, «the mind is a chain for one who knows». Worth noting the word śṛṅkhalā, «chain, fetters»; and that the chain is named precisely for the knower. That is, for the one who does not yet know, the mind is still needed — he goes by it; but for the knower it is already a hindrance.
The Vaishnava side agrees with the first half, and answers the second with its own distinction, cited at Varāha (3.21): the mind is a friend for the one who has conquered it, and an enemy for the unconquered (Gītā 6.6). That is, it becomes a chain not by nature but by use; and the knower for whom it has become a chain has used it badly.