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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.63
॥
Devanāgarī
बहुशास्त्रकथाकन्थारोमन्थेन वृथैव किम् । अन्वेष्टव्यं प्रयत्नेन मारुते ज्योतिरान्तरम्
Transliteration (IAST)
bahuśāstrakathākanthāromanthena vṛthaiva kim | anveṣṭavyaṃ prayatnena mārute jyotirāntaram
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बहु-शास्त्र-कथा-कन्था-bahu-śāstra-kathā-kanthā-with the patchwork-rag of many śāstra-tales
रोमन्थेन वृथा एव किम्romanthena vṛthā eva kimby rumination — to what end, in vain
अन्वेष्टव्यं प्रयत्नेनanveṣṭavyaṃ prayatnenais one to be sought with effort
मारुते ज्योतिः आन्तरम्mārute jyotiḥ āntaramo son of the Wind, the inward light
Translation
«To what end, in vain, ruminate on the patchwork-rag of the tales of many śāstras? With effort the inward light must be sought, o son of the Wind».
Version
365b70775dbb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a sharp verse, and its image is worth examining, for it is deliberately coarse. Kanthā is a patchwork blanket, sewn from scraps — the garment of a beggar. Romantha is «rumination»: what a cow brings up and chews a second time.
That is, of book-learning it is said: you chew scraps a second time. The image, I think, is merciless and exact: the well-read man indeed chews over another's words, and in fragments at that. It was noted when reading the second chapter (2.2) that śāstra-vāsanā, bookish habit, stands in the list of the three hindrances and poses as a virtue; and at the first chapter (1.48) — that in the list of the unworthy stands śāstra-garteṣu muhyate, «lost wandering in the pits of scripture».
That is, the book says this a third time, and each time more sharply. Add what the Vaishnava side answers to this, for it has something to say and does not stay silent. It agrees fully: rumination is rumination, and no one has changed from the amount read.
Its rule was cited at Varāha (4.4): a reflection that has not changed conduct has not taken place. But it adds one thing and holds it firmly: the cure for rumination is not silence, but living speech. And its ground is the one cited at Hayagrīva: one chews one's own, and a second time; but one hears another's, and for the first time.