Upanishads · Mahā 3.26
॥
Devanāgarī
तृष्णाविषूचिकामन्त्रश्चिन्तात्यागो हि स द्विज स्तोकेनानन्दमायाति स्तोकेनायाति खेदताम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tṛṣṇāviṣūcikāmantraścintātyāgo hi sa dvija stokenānandamāyāti stokenāyāti khedatām
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तृष्णा-विषूचिका-मन्त्रःtṛṣṇā-viṣūcikā-mantraḥthe spell against the cholera of craving; the charm against thirst, that cholera
चिन्ता-त्यागः हि सः द्विजcintā-tyāgaḥ hi saḥ dvijais the abandonment of cares, O twice-born; is the renouncing of anxieties, O twice-born
स्तोकेन आनन्दम् आयातिstokena ānandam āyātiat a trifle it comes to joy; from a little it arrives at delight
स्तोकेन आयाति खेदताम्stokena āyāti khedatāmat a trifle it comes to dejection; from a little it falls into despondency
Translation
“The spell against the cholera of craving, O twice-born, is the abandonment of cares; for at a trifle it comes to joy and at a trifle to dejection.”
Version
cd2cf286c9d3 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Craving is named viṣūcikā — cholera, the disease of which in ancient times one died within hours.
And the remedy is given: cintā-tyāga, “the abandonment of cares”. Not a struggle with desires, but the ceasing of what feeds them — the constant pondering and calculating.
The verse's second half explains why the remedy is such. Craving sways at a trifle: a little luck — it exults; a little failure — it sinks.
So it rests not on the object, but on our unceasing weighing: is it good, is it bad, for better or for worse. Stop weighing — and there will be nothing left to sway.
Note the word mantra: “spell, charm”. The turn is folk, almost a healer's. Against a disease — an incantation; and this incantation, it turns out, is not words but a change of the mind's occupation.