Upanishads · Mahā 2.53
॥
Devanāgarī
यावती दृश्यकलना सकलेयं विलोक्यते सा येन सुष्ठु संत्यक्ता स जीवन्मुक्त उच्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
yāvatī dṛśyakalanā sakaleyaṃ vilokyate sā yena suṣṭhu saṃtyaktā sa jīvanmukta ucyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यावती दृश्य-कलनाyāvatī dṛśya-kalanāhowever much notion of the seen there is; all the surmise of the visible, whatever there be
सकला इयम् विलोक्यतेsakalā iyam vilokyateall this that is beheld; this whole, as far as it is observed
सा येन सुष्ठु संत्यक्ताsā yena suṣṭhu saṃtyaktāby whom it is wholly relinquished; by whom it is duly let go
सः जीवन्मुक्तः उच्यतेsaḥ jīvanmuktaḥ ucyatehe is called liberated while living; he is named free while yet alive
Translation
“By whom the whole notion of the seen, however much there is of it, is wholly let go — he is called liberated while living.”
Version
8ba2f802c624 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
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The twelfth mark returns to the word kalanā, which deserves explaining, for it is key to the whole book and will return in the very last verse of the chapter.
Kalanā comes from a root meaning “to count, to posit, to set in motion”. It is the mind's work that makes the divided out of the undivided: here is an object, here another, here am I among them.
The book does not say “leave the visible” — it says “leave the kalanā of the visible”. The difference is the same as between “shut your eyes” and “stop carving up what you see”.
The word suṣṭhu, “properly, in full”, marks completeness: not selectively, not with regard to the unpleasant only.
In 2.77 it will be said that Śuka became “pure, without the stain of kalanā”. The circle will close precisely on this word.