Upanishads Rāma-tāpanī Uttara 1.2

Rāma-tāpanī UpaniṣadRāma-tāpanī Uttara 1.2

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Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Uttara 1.2

॥

Devanāgarī

अविमुक्तं वै कुरुक्षेत्रं देवानां देवयजनं सर्वेषां भूतानां ब्रह्मसदनम् । तस्माद्यत्र क्वचन गच्छति तदेव मन्येतेतीदं वै कुरुक्षेत्रं देवानां देवयजनं सर्वेषां भूतानां ब्रह्मसदनम् । अत्र हि जन्तोः प्राणेषूत्क्रममाणेषु रुद्रस्तारकं ब्रह्म व्याचष्टे येनासावमृतीभूत्वा मोक्षीभवति । तस्मादविमुक्तमेव निषेवेत । अविमुक्तं न विमुञ्चेत्

Transliteration (IAST)

avimuktaṃ vai kurukṣetraṃ devānāṃ devayajanaṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ brahmasadanam | tasmādyatra kvacana gacchati tadeva manyetetīdaṃ vai kurukṣetraṃ devānāṃ devayajanaṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ brahmasadanam | atra hi jantoḥ prāṇeṣūtkramamāṇeṣu rudrastārakaṃ brahma vyācaṣṭe yenāsāvamṛtībhūtvā mokṣībhavati | tasmādavimuktameva niṣeveta | avimuktaṃ na vimuñcet

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

अविमुक्तम् वै कुरुक्षेत्रम्avimuktam vai kurukṣetramKurukṣetra is the avimukta; the field of Kuru is the avimukta

तस्मात् यत्र क्वचन गच्छतिtasmāt yatra kvacana gacchatitherefore wherever one goes; hence wherever anyone may go

तत् एव मन्येत इतिtat eva manyeta itilet him think it that very place; let him hold it to be just that

अत्र हि जन्तोः प्राणेषु उत्क्रममाणेषुatra hi jantoḥ prāṇeṣu utkramamāṇeṣufor here, when the creature's breaths depart; since here, at the going out of a being's breaths

रुद्रः तारकम् ब्रह्म व्याचष्टेrudraḥ tārakam brahma vyācaṣṭeRudra expounds the ferrying Brahman; Rudra declares the tāraka-Brahman

येन असौ अमृतीभूत्वा मोक्षीभवतिyena asau amṛtībhūtvā mokṣībhavatiby which he, become immortal, is freed; whereby he, gaining deathlessness, is liberated

तस्मात् अविमुक्तम् एव निषेवेतtasmāt avimuktam eva niṣevetatherefore let him honour the avimukta alone; hence let him serve only the avimukta

अविमुक्तम् न विमुञ्चेत्avimuktam na vimuñcetlet him not forsake the unforsaken; the unabandoned let him not abandon

Translation

Kurukṣetra is the avimukta — the gods' place of sacrifice, the abode of Brahman for all beings. Therefore, wherever anyone goes, let him think it that very place. For here, when a creature's breaths depart, Rudra expounds to him the ferrying Brahman, by which he, become immortal, is freed. Therefore let him honour the avimukta alone, and let him not forsake the unforsaken.

Commentary

The answer is given, and in it are three things, each deserving a separate word.

First: avimukta — “the unabandoned, the unforsaken”. So is called that place in Kāśī which, by tradition, Śiva never leaves. Kurukṣetra, it is said, is that very thing.

Second — a turn that overturns every thought of holy places: “wherever anyone goes, let him think it that very place”. That is, the avimukta is not there; it is wherever you are.

This is the real answer to Bṛhaspati's question. He asked what Kurukṣetra is; he is answered that it is no place on a map. The third Upaniṣad of the uttara will locate it more exactly — between the brows and the nose.

Third and chief: there, where the dying man's breaths depart, Rudra tells him the tāraka — “the ferrying one”. The word is from the root tṝ, “to ferry across”; the same root is in tīrtha, “a ford”.

On this the lore of Kāśī rests: to one dying in the holy city Śiva whispers in the ear the word by which he crosses. What that word is, the next chapter will say — the six-syllable mantra of Rāma.

And the last commandment sounds like a play of words and like a rule of life: avimuktaṁ na vimuñcet — “the unforsaken do not forsake”.

Version

dbd7f39ca711 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC

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