Upanishads · Mahā 3.18
॥
Devanāgarī
इतश्चेतश्च सुव्यग्रं व्यर्थमेवाभिधावति मनो दूरतरं याति ग्रामे कौलेयको यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
itaścetaśca suvyagraṃ vyarthamevābhidhāvati mano dūrataraṃ yāti grāme kauleyako yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इतः च इतः च सु-व्यग्रम्itaḥ ca itaḥ ca su-vyagramhither and thither, all in a flurry; now one way, now the other, in restlessness
व्यर्थम् एव अभिधावतिvyartham eva abhidhāvatiit dashes about quite in vain; it runs to and fro entirely for nothing
मनः दूरतरम् यातिmanaḥ dūrataram yātithe mind strays ever farther; consciousness wanders farther and farther off
ग्रामे कौलेयकः यथाgrāme kauleyakaḥ yathālike a village dog about the village; just as a cur roams about the hamlet
Translation
“The mind dashes hither and thither, in a flurry and quite in vain, and strays ever farther — like a village dog about the village.”
Version
843c605c6c05 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison is simple and hits the mark: the mind is a village dog.
See what exactly is taken in this image. The dog is not chasing prey and not fleeing danger. It simply runs: from yard to yard, after every smell, after every noise. It tires and gets nothing.
The word vyartham — “in vain” — is the heart of the observation. The mind's restlessness has no connection with its aims; it is restless in itself.
Note too dūrataram yāti, “strays ever farther”. Each dash leads a little farther from home, and the dog comes back not because it decided to, but because it was called.
In the next verse Nidāgha will say who leads this dog on its leash.