Upanishads · Brahma 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
बहिःसूत्रं त्यजेद्विद्वान्योगमुत्तममास्थितः । ब्रह्मभावमयं सूत्रं धारयेद्यः स चेतनः
Transliteration (IAST)
bahiḥsūtraṃ tyajedvidvānyogamuttamamāsthitaḥ | brahmabhāvamayaṃ sūtraṃ dhārayedyaḥ sa cetanaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बहिःसूत्रम् त्यजेत् विद्वान्bahiḥsūtram tyajet vidvānlet the knower leave the outer thread; let the learned lay down the outward cord
योगम् उत्तमम् आस्थितःyogam uttamam āsthitaḥestablished in the highest yoga; standing firm in the supreme yoga
ब्रह्मभावमयम् सूत्रम्brahmabhāvamayam sūtramthe thread made of the state of Brahman; the cord woven of being Brahman
धारयेत् यः सः चेतनःdhārayet yaḥ saḥ cetanaḥwho wears it — he is conscious; he who bears it is the sentient one
Translation
Let the knower, established in the highest yoga, leave the outer thread; and he who wears the thread made of the state of Brahman — he is the conscious one.
Version
d37028107064 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:09:07 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse repeats what the third said, but adds a condition absent there: yogam uttamam āsthitaḥ — “established in the highest yoga”.
Repetition with a proviso is a cautious device, and here a needed one. The book says things easily abused: take off the cord, shave the tuft, the rite is dispensable.
And each time it adds who may do so: the wise, the knower of yoga, the seer of truth, the established.
Note also the last word: cetanaḥ — “conscious, sentient”.
It is set against the unconscious, and therein lies the whole barb. He who wears the cord of cloth does what everyone does; he who wears the inner one is conscious — he knows what he does and why.
The next verse will speak of an unexpected fruit of such wearing.