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Upanishads · Muktikā 2.65
॥
Devanāgarī
अधीत्य चतुरो वेदान्सर्वशास्त्राण्यनेकशः । ब्रह्मतत्त्वं न जानाति दर्वी पाकरसं यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
adhītya caturo vedānsarvaśāstrāṇyanekaśaḥ | brahmatattvaṃ na jānāti darvī pākarasaṃ yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अधीत्य चतुरः वेदान्adhītya caturaḥ vedānhaving studied the four Vedas
सर्व-शास्त्राणि अनेक-शःsarva-śāstrāṇi aneka-śaḥand all the śāstras many times over
ब्रह्म-तत्त्वं न जानातिbrahma-tattvaṃ na jānātithe truth of brahman he does not know
दर्वी पाक-रसं यथाdarvī pāka-rasaṃ yathāas a ladle does not know the taste of the dish
Translation
«Having studied the four Vedas and all the śāstras many times over, [such a one still] does not know the truth of brahman — as a ladle does not know the taste of the dish».
Version
c76935ccdc27 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a comparison that is, I think, the best in the whole second chapter and among the best in the whole collection: darvī pāka-rasaṃ yathā, «as a ladle does not know the taste of the dish». Worth examining it, for it is perfect. The ladle is right there in the dish: it is in it from beginning to end, it stirs it, it draws it out and serves it to others.
And it does not know its taste — because it has no tongue. That is, the matter is not about one who has not read, but about one who has read more than all: he is in the very middle of the subject, and he alone does not taste it. The Vaishnava side holds this comparison as its own and cites it constantly; and its conclusion is this.
To know the taste, one must take it into the mouth, not stir it; and hence knowledge here is not information but relishing — rasa, of which it was spoken at Varāha (2.71). Add what follows from the comparison and what is rarely noticed. The ladle is not to blame: it is made so, and does its work — without it the dish could not be served.
That is, learning is needed, and the learned are needed; the trouble is only that a person may remain a ladle his whole life, while being useful all the while. And add what is said in the Veda itself, cited at Bahvṛcā (9): yas taṃ na veda kim ṛcā kariṣyati, «what will one who does not know that do with a verse?»