Upanishads · Mahā 3.32
॥
Devanāgarī
तडित्सु शरदभ्रेषु गन्धर्वनगरेषु च स्थैर्यं येन विनिर्णीतं स विश्वसितु विग्रहे
Transliteration (IAST)
taḍitsu śaradabhreṣu gandharvanagareṣu ca sthairyaṃ yena vinirṇītaṃ sa viśvasitu vigrahe
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तडित्सु शरद-अभ्रेषुtaḍitsu śarada-abhreṣuin lightnings, in autumn clouds; amid flashes and autumnal thunderheads
गन्धर्व-नगरेषु चgandharva-nagareṣu caand in the cities of the gandharvas; and in the phantom towns of the gandharvas
स्थैर्यम् येन विनिर्णीतम्sthairyam yena vinirṇītamby whom firmness has been ascertained; he who has certified permanence there
सः विश्वसितु विग्रहेsaḥ viśvasitu vigrahelet him trust the body; let that man rely on the flesh
Translation
“He who has ascertained firmness in lightnings, in autumn clouds and in the phantom cities of the gandharvas — let him trust the body too.”
Version
8116c10bf97a · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Three images of impermanence, and all three are of the order of things that are visible and are not.
Lightning: it exists exactly as long as the flash lasts.
Autumn clouds: in India after the rains the sky is full of clouds that no longer pour anything and dissolve before one's eyes. A constant image of empty grandeur.
A city of the gandharvas is a mirage, a castle in the air; in Sanskrit letters it is what “fata morgana” is with us.
The verse's construction is mocking: not “the body is frail”, but “if you have found firmness in those things over there — then trust the body too”.
The device is good in that it does not argue. It simply sets the body in a row, and the row speaks for itself.