Upanishads · Mahā 3.15
॥
Devanāgarī
भारो विवेकिनः शास्त्रं भारो ज्ञानं च रागिणः अशान्तस्य मनो भारो भारोऽनात्मविदो वपुः
Transliteration (IAST)
bhāro vivekinaḥ śāstraṃ bhāro jñānaṃ ca rāgiṇaḥ aśāntasya mano bhāro bhāro'nātmavido vapuḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भारः विवेकिनः शास्त्रम्bhāraḥ vivekinaḥ śāstramfor the discerning, the śāstra is a burden; scripture weighs upon him who already discerns
भारः ज्ञानम् च रागिणःbhāraḥ jñānam ca rāgiṇaḥand knowledge is a burden for the passionate; and knowing weighs upon the one given to passion
अशान्तस्य मनः भारःaśāntasya manaḥ bhāraḥfor the unpacified, the mind is a burden; for him who has found no peace, consciousness is a weight
भारः अनात्म-विदः वपुःbhāraḥ anātma-vidaḥ vapuḥfor him who knows not the Ātman, the body is a burden; for one who has not known himself, the body is a weight
Translation
“Scripture is a burden to him who already discerns; knowledge is a burden to the passionate; the mind is a burden to the unpacified; the body is a burden to him who knows not the Ātman.”
Version
ff625a54b543 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Four weights, and all four are about the mismatch of means and state.
Scripture is a burden to the discerning: to him who already sees, the book is extra weight. Not because scripture is bad, but because the work is done.
Knowledge is a burden to the passionate: here, conversely, the means arrived out of season. To one full of desires, knowledge is only an extra reproach; it changes nothing in him and merely weighs.
The mind a burden to the unpacified — the most familiar. One's own head becomes a load.
And the body a burden to him who knows not himself: he must drag his flesh about, not understanding whose it is or what for.
Note the list's arrangement. It moves from the outer to the nearest: book, knowledge, mind, body. And the closer to oneself, the heavier.