Upanishads · Mahā 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
भावेष्वरतिरायाता पथिकस्य मरुष्विव शाम्यतीदं कथं दुःखमिति तप्तोऽस्मि चेतसा
Transliteration (IAST)
bhāveṣvaratirāyātā pathikasya maruṣviva śāmyatīdaṃ kathaṃ duḥkhamiti tapto'smi cetasā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भावेषु अरतिः आयाताbhāveṣu aratiḥ āyātātoward things distaste has come; disinclination toward appearances has arrived
पथिकस्य मरुषु इवpathikasya maruṣu ivaas with a traveller in deserts; just as with a wanderer among wastelands
शाम्यति इदम् कथम् दुःखम्śāmyati idam katham duḥkhamhow shall this suffering be stilled; in what way will this torment subside
इति तप्तः अस्मि चेतसाiti taptaḥ asmi cetasāthus I am worn out in mind; hence I am wearied in consciousness
Translation
“Distaste for everything has come — as with a traveller among deserts. ‘How shall this suffering be stilled?’ — with this I am worn out in mind.”
Version
0f76bd001ae6 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The word arati is the same that stood in 2.71 of Śuka: “distaste, want of relish”.
The comparison chosen is with a traveller in the desert, and it is more exact than it seems. The traveller among the sands is indifferent to beauties not because he has attained wisdom, but because there is nothing around to look at. The world has stopped offering.
This state is no merit. Nor does Nidāgha pass it off as one: he says he is worn out.
Here is where to pause. Renunciation without refuge is tormenting; it is not peace but drought. This is precisely why Nidāgha came to a teacher instead of staying to enjoy his insight.
His question is literal: “how shall this suffering be stilled?” And note — what he calls suffering is not calamities, but his own awakened state itself.