Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Uttara 5.27
॥
Devanāgarī
आब्रह्मबीजदोषाश्च नियमातिक्रमोद्भवाः । स्त्रीणां च पुरुषाणां च मन्त्रेणानेन नाशिताः
Transliteration (IAST)
ābrahmabījadoṣāśca niyamātikramodbhavāḥ | strīṇāṃ ca puruṣāṇāṃ ca mantreṇānena nāśitāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आब्रह्मबीजदोषाः चābrahmabījadoṣāḥ caand the faults of the seed up to Brahmā; the flaws of the line back to Brahmā
नियमातिक्रमोद्भवाःniyamātikramodbhavāḥborn of the transgression of rules; sprung from the breaking of vows
स्त्रीणाम् च पुरुषाणाम् चstrīṇām ca puruṣāṇām caboth of women and of men; of wives and husbands alike
मन्त्रेण अनेन नाशिताःmantreṇa anena nāśitāḥby this mantra are destroyed; by this mantra are wiped out
Translation
“And the faults of the seed reaching back to Brahmā, born of the transgression of vows — of women and of men alike — by this mantra are destroyed.”
Version
3697b7f52eb6 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The last verse of the list, and it is the widest: ā-brahma-bīja-doṣa — “the faults of the seed up to Brahmā”.
That is, not one's own and not one's father's, but running up the line to the creator himself.
Here the list reaches the limit beyond which there is nowhere to go. It began with the sin done in a day; it ends with the hereditary taint of the whole human race.
And something is added that almost never occurs in śāstras of this kind: strīṇāṁ ca puruṣāṇāṁ ca — “of women and of men alike”.
This proviso deserves a separate word. The rules of purification in the dharma-śāstras are written for men; for women another and lesser thing is prescribed.
Here both halves of the race are named equally.
Recall that in the fifth paragraph of this chapter too the fruit went to ten forebears and ten descendants; and in the twelfth paragraph of the third chapter of the uttara liberation extended down to the worms and insects.
The book is consistent: where the speech is of mercy, its lists always end with the word “all”.
The list of sins is finished. Next comes what the mantra gives, and not only removes.