Upanishads · Mahā 2.30
॥
Devanāgarī
संसाराडम्बरमिदं कथमभ्युत्थितं गुरो कथं प्रशममायाति यथावत्कथयाशु मे
Transliteration (IAST)
saṃsārāḍambaramidaṃ kathamabhyutthitaṃ guro kathaṃ praśamamāyāti yathāvatkathayāśu me
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
संसार-आडम्बरम् इदम्saṃsāra-āḍambaram idamthis pageant of saṁsāra; all this loud parade of the round
कथम् अभ्युत्थितम् गुरोkatham abhyutthitam gurohow did it arise, O teacher; whence did it spring, O preceptor
कथम् प्रशमम् आयातिkatham praśamam āyātihow does it come to stillness; how does it subside
यथावत् कथय आशु मेyathāvat kathaya āśu metell me quickly, as it is; declare it to me at once, as it truly is
Translation
“Whence has all this pageant of the round arisen, O teacher? How does it come to stillness? Tell me quickly, as it is.”
Version
2d91005578b0 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The same question as to his father in 2.15 — almost word for word.
Almost. One address is changed: there it was mune, “O sage”; here guro — “O teacher”.
In this single word lies the whole meaning of the three weeks at the gate. To his father Śuka spoke as to a man who knows; to Janaka he speaks as to a teacher. The difference is not in reverence — reverence was there too (2.14, “with devotion”). The difference is in the position the asker assigns to himself.
The question is the same. The answer will be the same. Only the questioner has changed — and that proved enough.
Note also the word āśu, “quickly”. Three weeks he waited in silence and never once reminded them of himself; but given leave, he urges haste. The patience was not indifference.