Upanishads · Brahma 4.1
॥
Devanāgarī
कर्मण्यधिकृता ये तु वैदिके ब्राह्मणादयः । तैः संधार्यमिदं सूत्रं क्रियाङ्गं तद्धि वै स्मृतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
karmaṇyadhikṛtā ye tu vaidike brāhmaṇādayaḥ | taiḥ saṃdhāryamidaṃ sūtraṃ kriyāṅgaṃ taddhi vai smṛtam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कर्मणि अधिकृताः ये तुkarmaṇi adhikṛtāḥ ye tubut those who are authorised for the rite; yet they who hold the right to the act
वैदिके ब्राह्मणादयःvaidike brāhmaṇādayaḥin the Vedic — brāhmaṇas and the rest; in Vedic business, brāhmaṇas and others
तैः संधार्यम् इदम् सूत्रम्taiḥ saṃdhāryam idam sūtramby them this thread is to be worn; they must bear this cord
क्रियाङ्गम् तत् हि वै स्मृतम्kriyāṅgam tat hi vai smṛtamfor it is held a limb of the action; it counts as a member of the rite
Translation
But those who are authorised for the Vedic rite — the brāhmaṇas and the rest — by them this thread is to be worn, for it is held to be a limb of the ritual action.
Version
310fdb22f3d6 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:09:07 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse for which the whole fourth chapter deserves reading: what the third said is here bounded.
After ten verses on removing the outer thread it is said: but those authorised for the rite — let them wear it.
Adhikṛta — “entitled, appointed to the task”. The word is fundamental in the śāstras: every act has its adhikārin, the one to whom it belongs.
And the ground is given: kriyāṅgam — “a limb of the action”. The cord is neither ornament nor caste-badge: without it the rite is incomplete, as without its utensils.
Here the book shows its measure.
It does not say: the rite is nothing, off with the cord, all of you. It distinguishes: he who has the work — let him wear it; he who has left the work — let him wear the inner one.
This distinction is called adhikāra in the Vedānta, and on it the whole order of the āśramas stands. We saw it in the Jābāla too: there the wanderer casts the cord into the waters, and the householder does not.
The next two verses will return to the inner thread, but now without dispute.