Upanishads · Mahā 4.11
॥
Devanāgarī
तत्त्वावबोध एवासौ वासनातृणपावकः प्रोक्तः समाधिशब्देन नतु तूष्णीमवस्थितिः
Transliteration (IAST)
tattvāvabodha evāsau vāsanātṛṇapāvakaḥ proktaḥ samādhiśabdena natu tūṣṇīmavasthitiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्त्व-अवबोधः एव असौtattva-avabodhaḥ eva asauprecisely this comprehension of truth; just it, the understanding of reality
वासना-तृण-पावकःvāsanā-tṛṇa-pāvakaḥthe fire for the straw of vāsanās; the flame for the straw of inclinations
प्रोक्तः समाधि-शब्देनproktaḥ samādhi-śabdenais named by the word “samādhi”; is designated by the word “samādhi”
न तु तूष्णीम् अवस्थितिःna tu tūṣṇīm avasthitiḥand not the silent sitting; and by no means the mute sitting-still
Translation
“It is the comprehension of truth — the fire for the straw of inclinations — that is named by the word ‘samādhi’, and by no means silent sitting.”
Version
e1f9b7e9e0a1 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse corrects a widespread error, and corrects it directly: na tu tūṣṇīm avasthitiḥ — “and not silent sitting”.
Anyone can sit in silence. Samādhi is not a posture and not quietness, but tattva-avabodha, “the comprehension of truth”.
The test is given on the spot: fire for the straw of vāsanās. If after hours of sitting the inclinations are intact — whatever happened, there was no samādhi.
The image is good in its measure. Straw burns fast and entirely; the vāsanās, meeting clear understanding, do not diminish little by little — they burn through.
Note how this verse is linked with 4.7. There samādhi is defined as the mind's non-doership, here as the comprehension of truth. There is no contradiction: the mind ceases to be a doer exactly when it has seen how the matter stands.
Vaiṣṇava teachers love this passage as an argument against counterfeit: the outward look of concentration is easily reproduced, the fruit is not.