Upanishads · Mahā 4.27
॥
Devanāgarī
न धनान्य्पकुर्वन्ति न मित्राणि न बान्धवाः न कायक्लेशवैधुर्यं न तीर्थायतनाश्रयः केवलं तन्मनोमात्रमयेनासाद्यते पदम्
Transliteration (IAST)
na dhanānypakurvanti na mitrāṇi na bāndhavāḥ na kāyakleśavaidhuryaṃ na tīrthāyatanāśrayaḥ kevalaṃ tanmanomātramayenāsādyate padam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न धनानि अपकुर्वन्तिna dhanāni apakurvantiriches do not help; wealth does not avail
न मित्राणि न बान्धवाःna mitrāṇi na bāndhavāḥneither friends nor kinsmen; neither companions nor relations
न काय-क्लेश-वैधुर्यम्na kāya-kleśa-vaidhuryamnor the exhausting of the body by toil; nor the tormenting of flesh with hardships
न तीर्थ-आयतन-आश्रयःna tīrtha-āyatana-āśrayaḥnor refuge in holy places and temples; nor shelter at shrines and sanctuaries
केवलम् तत् मनः-मात्रkevalam tat manaḥ-mātraonly by what is mind alone; solely by that which is only mind
मयेन आसाद्यते पदम्mayena āsādyate padamconsisting, the state is reached; in substance, is the state obtained
Translation
“Neither riches help, nor friends, nor kinsmen, nor bodily exhaustion, nor refuge in holy places and temples: that state is reached only by what consists of mind alone.”
Version
78be8028ccea · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse cuts off everything a man is used to counting on — and does it in four steps, from the coarse to the subtle.
Wealth. Friends and kin. Bodily feats. And — unexpectedly — pilgrimage and temples.
The last, by the way, is said to that very Nidāgha who has just gone round three and a half crores of tīrthas (3.2). The teacher as much as says: this too is not it.
He does not cancel pilgrimage: he himself said that from the merit of the ablutions a pondering rose in Nidāgha. He cancels the reckoning on pilgrimage as a means of attainment.
By what it is attained is stated: manaḥ-mātra-maya, “consisting of mind alone”.
This must be read together with 3.21: the mind is the cause of the worlds. Since bondage and freedom are made in the mind, the work must be done there; all that is done outside is only preparation.