Upanishads · Mahā 4.30
॥
Devanāgarī
न रसायनपानेन न लक्ष्म्यालिङ्गितेन च न तथा सुखमाप्नोति शमेनान्तर्यथा जनः
Transliteration (IAST)
na rasāyanapānena na lakṣmyāliṅgitena ca na tathā sukhamāpnoti śamenāntaryathā janaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न रसायन-पानेनna rasāyana-pānenanot by drinking the elixir; not by partaking of the healing draught
न लक्ष्म्या आलिङ्गितेन चna lakṣmyā āliṅgitena canor by the embrace of the goddess of fortune; nor by the embraces of Lakṣmī herself
न तथा सुखम् आप्नोतिna tathā sukham āpnotidoes one gain such happiness; does one attain such bliss
शमेन अन्तः यथा जनःśamena antaḥ yathā janaḥas a man does by calm within; as a man by inner peace
Translation
“Neither by drinking the elixir nor by the embrace of the goddess of fortune herself does a man gain such happiness as by inner calm.”
Version
4d423c2c6770 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A comparison with the two highest goods imaginable.
Rasāyana is the potion that gives long life and health; in the tradition it is the prize for which feats were performed.
Lakṣmī is the goddess of fortune and wealth herself, and it says not “wealth” but “the embrace of Lakṣmī” — the limit of conceivable luck.
Both are set below śama, inner calm.
The argument is not mystical but simple. Long life prolongs the existence of one who is restless within; wealth gives the restless man more objects for restlessness. Neither touches the cause.
Calm touches it directly, and therefore it is not a means to happiness but happiness itself.
Note the word antaḥ — “within”. The qualification is necessary: the calm of circumstances does not count; it comes and goes.