Upanishads · Mahā 2.26
॥
Devanāgarī
ते भोगास्तानि भोज्यानि व्यासपुत्रस्य तन्मनः नाजह्वुर्मन्दपवनो बद्धपीठमिवाचलम्
Transliteration (IAST)
te bhogāstāni bhojyāni vyāsaputrasya tanmanaḥ nājahvurmandapavano baddhapīṭhamivācalam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ते भोगाः तानि भोज्यानिte bhogāḥ tāni bhojyānithose delights, those dishes; these pleasures, these viands
व्यास-पुत्रस्य तत्-मनःvyāsa-putrasya tat-manaḥthe mind of Vyāsa's son; that consciousness of Vyāsa's son
न अजह्रुः मन्द-पवनःna ajahruḥ manda-pavanaḥdid not carry off, as a feeble wind; did not sway, like a listless breeze
बद्ध-पीठम् इव अचलम्baddha-pīṭham iva acalama mountain immovable on its firm base; a mountain settled on its own foundation
Translation
Those delights and dishes did not sway the mind of Vyāsa's son — as a feeble wind does not move a mountain set firm on its base.
Version
5e96837901e1 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The trial's outcome and an exact image.
The comparison is not with a stone or a cliff, but with a mountain on its base: baddha-pīṭha, “with its footing made fast”. Śuka's steadiness lies not in hardness but in rootedness. The point is not that he resists, but that he has nothing to be moved from.
And the wind is called manda — “feeble”. From the book's standpoint, palace temptations are no storm. We think them strong because we stand unsteadily.
Vaiṣṇava thought adds to this its known rule: it is not the one who shuts his eyes who holds fast, but the one who has tasted the better. Śuka does not fight the viands — he has no need of them. Verse 2.1 said what occupies him: svarūpa-ānanda, the delight of his own nature.
It is not will that wins, but fullness.