Upanishads · Mahā 3.56
॥
Devanāgarī
स्फुरन्ति हि न भोगाशा मृगतृष्णासरःस्वपि अतो मां बोधयाशु त्वं तत्त्वज्ञानेन वै गुरो
Transliteration (IAST)
sphuranti hi na bhogāśā mṛgatṛṣṇāsaraḥsvapi ato māṃ bodhayāśu tvaṃ tattvajñānena vai guro
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्फुरन्ति हि न भोग-आशाःsphuranti hi na bhoga-āśāḥhopes of enjoyment flare up no more; expectations of delight no longer break through
मृग-तृष्णा-सरःसु अपिmṛga-tṛṣṇā-saraḥsu apieven in the lakes of mirage; even amid the lakes of the shimmering haze
अतः माम् बोधय आशु त्वम्ataḥ mām bodhaya āśu tvamtherefore awaken me quickly; hence rouse me without delay
तत्त्व-ज्ञानेन वै गुरोtattva-jñānena vai gurowith the knowledge of truth, O preceptor; by the very knowing of reality, O teacher
Translation
“…hopes of enjoyment sprout no more — not even in the lakes of mirage. Therefore awaken me quickly with the knowledge of truth, O preceptor.”
Version
88467a824e49 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here Nidāgha reaches his request, for whose sake he spoke fifty-five verses.
First — his state. Hopes of enjoyment no longer flare even mṛga-tṛṣṇā-saraḥsu, “in the lakes of mirage”.
The image is unfolded: mṛga-tṛṣṇā is literally “the deer's thirst” — the shimmering haze after which the exhausted animal runs. Nidāgha says: I no longer run even after mirages, for I have seen through them.
And then the request: bodhaya — “awaken”.
The verb is chosen exactly. Not “explain”, not “teach”, but “wake”. He who sleeps needs no information; he needs to be called.
This echoes all that was in the second chapter: Śuka had the knowledge; what was lacking was the person from whose lips it would sound. Nidāgha asks for the same — but, unlike Śuka, he asks at once and does not wander three weeks at the gate.