Upanishads · Kaivalya 3
॥
Devanāgarī
परेण नाकं निहितं गुहायां विभ्राजते यद् यतयो विशन्ति वेदान्त-विज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाः संन्यासयोगाद् यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः
Transliteration (IAST)
pareṇa nākaṃ nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ vibhrājate yad yatayo viśanti vedānta-vijñānasuniścitārthāḥ saṃnyāsayogād yatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
परेण नाकम् निहितम् गुहायाम्pareṇa nākam nihitam guhāyāmset higher than heaven, in the secret place; hidden above the vault, in the cave
विभ्राजते यत्vibhrājate yatthat which shines; that which gleams
यतयः विशन्तिyatayaḥ viśantiinto which the strivers enter; into it the ascetics enter
वेदान्तविज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाःvedāntavijñānasuniścitārthāḥwho have firmly ascertained the meaning of Vedānta knowledge; whose object is made certain by the knowing of Vedānta
संन्यासयोगात् यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाःsaṃnyāsayogāt yatayaḥ śuddhasattvāḥby renunciation — the strivers, pure of being; through saṃnyāsa the ascetics, pure in essence
Translation
Set higher than heaven, hidden in the secret place of the heart — it shines, and into it enter the strivers who have firmly ascertained the meaning of Vedānta knowledge — the strivers purified of being by renunciation.
Version
08128cbfbd71 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:04:38 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse points to where the sought thing is: pareṇa nākam nihitaṃ guhāyām — “set higher than heaven, in the secret place”.
Two indications at once, and they are opposites. Higher than heaven — beyond everything that ascent can reach. And immediately — guhāyām, “in the cave, the secret place”, and the secret place in the Upaniṣads is always the heart.
This conjunction is constant in śruti. What is farther than all distances is what is nearest of all.
The Taittirīya says the same: “in the secret place, in the highest heaven”; the Muṇḍaka — “in the heart, in the secret place”.
Then it is said who enters there: yatayaḥ, “the strivers”, and moreover vedānta-vijñāna-suniścitārthāḥ — “who have firmly ascertained the meaning of Vedānta knowledge”.
The word suniścita means “fully assured, settled”. Not doubters, that is: those for whom the object of knowledge is already established.
This quarter of the verse coincides word for word with the Muṇḍaka, and so does the next: “purified of being by renunciation”.
Note the order. In the previous verse there was faith, bhakti and contemplation; here — knowledge and renunciation. The book does not set them against each other: it names both, and in both cases demands firmness.