Upanishads · Mahā 4.76
॥
Devanāgarī
दुर्लभो विषयत्यागो दुर्लभं तत्त्वदर्शनम् दुर्लभा सहजावस्था सद्गुरोः करुणां विना
Transliteration (IAST)
durlabho viṣayatyāgo durlabhaṃ tattvadarśanam durlabhā sahajāvasthā sadguroḥ karuṇāṃ vinā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दुर्लभः विषय-त्यागःdurlabhaḥ viṣaya-tyāgaḥhard to attain is the renouncing of objects; rarely granted is the leaving of the sensory
दुर्लभम् तत्त्व-दर्शनम्durlabham tattva-darśanamhard to attain is the seeing of truth; rarely granted is the vision of reality
दुर्लभा सहज-अवस्थाdurlabhā sahaja-avasthāhard to attain is the natural state; rarely granted is the inborn condition
सत्-गुरोः करुणाम् विनाsat-guroḥ karuṇām vināwithout the mercy of a true teacher; without the compassion of a genuine preceptor
Translation
“Hard to attain are the renouncing of the sensory, the seeing of truth and the natural state — without the mercy of a true teacher.”
Version
8bb9103f465d · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A short verse, and it sets everything said in the chapter in its place.
Three attainments are listed in ascending order: renouncing the sensory, seeing the essence, sahaja-avasthā — “the natural, inborn state”.
The last is what everything was leading to: not an effort, but what has become one's own.
And it is said: without the teacher's karuṇā, “mercy, compassion” — it is not granted.
Note the word. Not “without instructions” and not “without guidance”, but precisely without mercy. That is, the teacher is no mechanism for transmitting information; he gives of himself.
This echoes 4.1 directly, where Ṛbhu explained Nidāgha's insight by the word anugraha — “the Lord's grace”. Grace from above and the teacher's mercy are named in one line.
On this the Vaiṣṇava tradition stands entire, and here it has nothing to add: the verse says it more plainly than the tradition usually says it itself.