Upanishads · Mahā 3.10
॥
Devanāgarī
विषयाशी विषासङ्गपरिजर्जरचेतसाम् अप्रौढात्मविवेकानामायुरायासकारणम्
Transliteration (IAST)
viṣayāśī viṣāsaṅgaparijarjaracetasām aprauḍhātmavivekānāmāyurāyāsakāraṇam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विषय-आशी विष-आसङ्गviṣaya-āśī viṣa-āsaṅgadevourer of objects, poisonous attachment; consumed by the sensory, venomous clinging
परि-जर्जर-चेतसाम्pari-jarjara-cetasāmfor those whose mind is all decayed; for those whose consciousness is worn utterly threadbare
अप्रौढ-आत्म-विवेकानाम्aprauḍha-ātma-vivekānāmfor those unripe in discerning the Ātman; for those not matured in the discernment of self
आयुः आयास-कारणम्āyuḥ āyāsa-kāraṇamlife is the cause of weariness; the life-span is a source of exhaustion
Translation
“For those consumed by the sensory, whose mind has decayed from venomous attachment, who are unripe in the discernment of the Ātman — life itself is a cause of weariness.”
Version
f331e77ce302 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse overturns the usual complaint.
We say: life is hard because of circumstances. Nidāgha says: life is āyāsa-kāraṇa, “a cause of weariness” — and points out for whom.
Three marks are listed. Consumed by the sensory. A mind decayed from attachment — the word jarjara means “worn, holed, falling apart”, like old cloth. And unripe in discernment.
The last is the essential one. Aprauḍha means “ungrown, immature”. That is, the trouble is not that a man does not know the teaching, but that the knowledge has not ripened in him.
Hence a conclusion important for the reader: a long life is not in itself a good. For one it is opportunity; for another, simply more weariness.