Upanishads · Mahā 3.41
॥
Devanāgarī
मेरुशृङ्गतटोल्लासिगङ्गाचलरयोपमा दृष्टा यस्मिन्मुने मुक्ताहारस्योल्लासशालिता
Transliteration (IAST)
meruśṛṅgataṭollāsigaṅgācalarayopamā dṛṣṭā yasminmune muktāhārasyollāsaśālitā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मेरु-शृङ्ग-तट-उल्लासिmeru-śṛṅga-taṭa-ullāsiplaying down the slope of Meru's peak; sparkling along the steep of Meru's summit
गङ्गा-चल-रय-उपमाgaṅgā-cala-raya-upamālike the rushing current of the Gaṅgā; likened to the impetuous flow of the Gaṅgā
दृष्टा यस्मिन् मुने मुक्ताdṛṣṭā yasmin mune muktāin whom was seen, O sage, of a pearl; in whom was beheld, O silent one, of the pearl
हारस्य उल्लास-शालिताhārasya ullāsa-śālitānecklace the playing loveliness; necklace's sparkling comeliness
Translation
“On the breast where was seen the playing loveliness of a pearl necklace, like the rushing Gaṅgā sparkling down the slope of Meru, O sage…”
Version
ebd0d1f9b8c8 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse begins a picture that the next will break off, and therefore the two must be read together.
Here is pure poetry, without a single reproach. The pearl necklace on the breast is compared to the Gaṅgā running down Meru's slope: a white stream over a dark steep.
The comparison is beautiful and venerable — the Gaṅgā in these books is sacred, Meru is the axis of the world.
Nidāgha is not mocking. He is remembering, and remembering with admiration.
This matters for the right reading of the whole series. He is not blind to beauty and does not pretend it does not exist. He saw it and remembered it.
And in the next verse he will say what became of it.