Upanishads · Mahā 3.25
॥
Devanāgarī
सर्वसंसारदुःखानां तृष्णैका दीर्घदुःखदा अन्तःपुरस्थमपि या योजयत्यतिसंकटे
Transliteration (IAST)
sarvasaṃsāraduḥkhānāṃ tṛṣṇaikā dīrghaduḥkhadā antaḥpurasthamapi yā yojayatyatisaṃkaṭe
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सर्व-संसार-दुःखानाम्sarva-saṃsāra-duḥkhānāmof all the sufferings of saṁsāra; among all the torments of the round
तृष्णा एका दीर्घ-दुःख-दाtṛṣṇā ekā dīrgha-duḥkha-dācraving alone gives long anguish; thirst alone inflicts enduring pain
अन्तःपुर-स्थम् अपि याantaḥpura-stham api yāwhich even one dwelling in the palace; she who even one seated in the inner chambers
योजयति अति-संकटेyojayati ati-saṃkaṭecasts into utmost straits; drives into direst want
Translation
“Of all the sufferings of the round, craving alone gives long anguish: even him who dwells in a palace it casts into utmost straits.”
Version
659924cde582 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The argument that settles the matter.
All the other sufferings of the round come from without and pass: sickness, loss, want. Craving is dīrgha-duḥkha-dā, “giver of long anguish”, because it does not depend on circumstances.
The proof is given by a single example: a man in the antaḥpura, the palace chambers where everything is at hand — and he is in saṃkaṭa, in the straits.
The word saṃkaṭa means “a narrow place, a crush, no way out”. He lives in spacious halls and suffocates.
Recall, meanwhile, that in the second chapter it was precisely the antaḥpura that was the place of Śuka's trial (2.24). The same palace: to one it is straits, to the other nothing.
So the halls are not the point.