Upanishads · Mahā 2.39
॥
Devanāgarī
अशेषेण परित्यागो वासनायां य उत्तमः मोक्ष इत्युच्यते सद्भिः स एव विमलक्रमः
Transliteration (IAST)
aśeṣeṇa parityāgo vāsanāyāṃ ya uttamaḥ mokṣa ityucyate sadbhiḥ sa eva vimalakramaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अशेषेण परित्यागःaśeṣeṇa parityāgaḥthe abandonment without remainder; the relinquishing with nothing left over
वासनायाम् यः उत्तमःvāsanāyām yaḥ uttamaḥof the vāsanās, which is highest; of impressions — the supreme one
मोक्षः इति उच्यते सद्भिःmokṣaḥ iti ucyate sadbhiḥis called liberation by the holy; is named deliverance by the righteous
सः एव विमल-क्रमःsaḥ eva vimala-kramaḥit is the stainless course itself; it is the very immaculate going
Translation
“The highest abandonment is the abandonment of impressions without remainder; the holy call it liberation, and it is the stainless course itself.”
Version
9471cbbbae06 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A word is introduced that will be chief to the chapter's end: vāsanā.
It is “impression”, “trace”, “habit” — the residue of the lived-through that remains in the mind and decides where the mind will lean next time. Not a thought but an inclination. Not what I think, but what I am drawn to before any thought.
The vāsanā is the real tether. One can leave home, give away one's goods, fall silent for twenty years — and remain with one's inclinations.
Therefore the verse says: the best renunciation is not of things but of vāsanās.
Note the last words: vimala-krama, “the stainless course” or “the pure going”. Liberation is named not a state but a movement. It is not only the goal but also the way of walking.