Upanishads · Mahā 4.74
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मान्मुमुक्षिभिर्नैव मतिर्जीवेशवादयोः कार्या किंतु ब्रह्मतत्त्वं निश्चलेन विचार्यताम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tasmānmumukṣibhirnaiva matirjīveśavādayoḥ kāryā kiṃtu brahmatattvaṃ niścalena vicāryatām
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्मात् मुमुक्षुभिः न एवtasmāt mumukṣubhiḥ na evatherefore by the seekers of freedom by no means; hence by those who long for deliverance in no way
मतिः जीव-ईश-वादयोःmatiḥ jīva-īśa-vādayoḥshould thought of the disputes on jīva and Lord; should musing on the debates about soul and Master
कार्या किन्तु ब्रह्म-तत्त्वम्kāryā kintu brahma-tattvambe entertained; but the truth of Brahman; be engaged in; rather the reality of Brahman
निश्चलेन विचार्यताम्niścalena vicāryatāmlet the unshakable one examine; let it be inquired into by the unwavering
Translation
“Therefore the seekers of freedom should not occupy their thought with the disputes about jīva and Lord; let the unshakable one examine the truth of Brahman.”
Version
ddac1ebc2c90 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The conclusion from the previous verse, and it is practical: do not dispute.
The word vāda means “debate, disputation”. The speech is of school polemics: which is prior, the soul or the Lord, how they differ, how they are related.
This temptation is eternal and especially strong for the well-read. A dispute is engrossing, and the mind in it is occupied and therefore pleased.
The teacher does not say the question is unimportant — he says that for the mumukṣu, “the seeker of freedom”, it is not first. First examine the essence; dispute afterwards, if the appetite remains.
Note the word niścalena — “by the unshakable”. The examination is to be done not with a disputant's heat, but with that evenness which was described in 4.32.
The Vaiṣṇava tradition, which has its own doctrine of jīva and Īśvara, takes this verse calmly: it does not forbid knowing; it forbids warring instead of walking.