Upanishads · Kaivalya 25
॥
Devanāgarī
अनेन ज्ञानम् आप्नोति संसारार्णवनाशनम् तस्माद् एवं विदित्वैनं कैवल्यं पदम् अश्नुते कैवल्यं पदम् अश्नुते
Transliteration (IAST)
anena jñānam āpnoti saṃsārārṇavanāśanam tasmād evaṃ viditvainaṃ kaivalyaṃ padam aśnute kaivalyaṃ padam aśnute
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनेन ज्ञानम् आप्नोतिanena jñānam āpnotiby this he obtains knowledge; through this he gains the knowing
संसारार्णवनाशनम्saṃsārārṇavanāśanamdestroying the ocean of saṃsāra; that annihilates the sea of the round of birth
तस्मात् एवम् विदित्वा एनम्tasmāt evam viditvā enamtherefore, having thus known him; hence, having realised him so
कैवल्यम् पदम् अश्नुतेkaivalyam padam aśnutehe attains the state of kaivalya; he wins the standing of kaivalya
कैवल्यम् पदम् अश्नुतेkaivalyam padam aśnutehe attains the state of kaivalya; he wins the standing of kaivalya
Translation
By this he obtains the knowledge that destroys the ocean of the round of birth; therefore, having known Him thus, he attains the state of kaivalya — he attains the state of kaivalya.
Version
629d525e3517 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:04:38 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The last verse, and it gives the book its name.
Kaivalya — “aloneness, singleness”, from kevala, “one, sole, unmixed”. The word belongs to the Sāṅkhya and the Yoga, where it means the final separation of spirit from matter: to remain alone, mingled with nothing.
Here it is called padam — “a state, a place, a standing”.
The doubling of the last quarter is the usual sign of an upaniṣad's end; so many of them close.
Let us look back over the way travelled.
The book began with Āśvalāyana's plea for the knowledge that leads to the Puruṣa higher than the high. The answer was: by faith, bhakti and contemplation. Then — the solitary place, the bow to the teacher, the lotus of the heart and in it the Lord with Umā. Then — that He is also Brahmā, and Viṣṇu, and time, and fire. Then the analysis of the three states and the Witness behind them. Then the speech in the first person, carried to the end of the negations, and — instead of “I am He” — “he goes to the Highest Ātman”. And finally the Śatarudriya, which it is enough to recite once.
This way is what is named kaivalya.
Note why the book is dear to the Vaiṣṇava Vedānta. Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites its second verse in the Govinda-bhāṣya, proving that the vision of the Lord is granted not to the effort of cognition but to samārādhana — that satisfying of Him which is woven of faith, devotion and remembrance.
One verse out of twenty-five; but much in his argument rests on it.