Upanishads · Mahā 3.46
॥
Devanāgarī
जन्मपल्वलमत्स्यानां चित्तकर्दमचारिणाम् पुंसां दुर्वासनारज्जुर्नारी बडिशपिण्डिका
Transliteration (IAST)
janmapalvalamatsyānāṃ cittakardamacāriṇām puṃsāṃ durvāsanārajjurnārī baḍiśapiṇḍikā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जन्म-पल्वल-मत्स्यानाम्janma-palvala-matsyānāmfor the fish in the pond of birth; for the little fish in the pool of being born
चित्त-कर्दम-चारिणाम्citta-kardama-cāriṇāmthat rove the mire of the mind; that scurry in the silt of consciousness
पुंसाम् दुर्वासना-रज्जुःpuṃsām durvāsanā-rajjuḥfor men, the rope of evil inclinations; for men, the cord of wicked leanings
नारी बडिश-पिण्डिकाnārī baḍiśa-piṇḍikāwoman is the bait upon the hook; woman is the lure on the angling hook
Translation
“For men — fish in the pond of births, roving the mire of the mind — the rope of evil inclinations is the line, and woman is the bait upon the hook.”
Version
1dc595b48152 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image of angling, and in it all the parts of the tackle are set in place.
The pond is birth. The mire is the mind. The line is durvāsanā, “evil inclinations”. The bait on the hook is the object of desire.
The chief thing in this image is the apportioning of blame, and it is not what one expects after the preceding verses.
The line — that is what holds the fish. The bait only attracted it; the bait can hold nothing, it is not even fastened firmly. What pulls is the vāsanā.
And further: the fish snaps not because the bait is treacherous, but because it is a fish and lives in the mire.
Thus Nidāgha, perhaps without wishing it, arrives at what the book said in the second chapter: the cause is not in the object but in the inclination. Hence the cure is not the removal of objects but the thinning of vāsanās (2.41).