Upanishads · Mahā 4.87
॥
Devanāgarī
मनोव्याधेश्चिकित्सार्थमुपायं कथयामि ते यद्यत्स्वाभिमतं वस्तु तत्त्यजन्मोक्षमश्नुते
Transliteration (IAST)
manovyādheścikitsārthamupāyaṃ kathayāmi te yadyatsvābhimataṃ vastu tattyajanmokṣamaśnute
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मनः-व्याधेः चिकित्सा-अर्थम्manaḥ-vyādheḥ cikitsā-arthamfor the treating of the mind's disease; for the healing of the sickness of consciousness
उपायम् कथयामि तेupāyam kathayāmi teI shall tell thee the means; I will set forth for thee the method
यत् यत् स्व-अभिमतम् वस्तुyat yat sva-abhimatam vastuwhatever thing is dear to thee; every thing that thou holdest desirable
तत् त्यजन् मोक्षम् अश्नुतेtat tyajan mokṣam aśnuteleaving it, one gains freedom; by leaving it, one tastes deliverance
Translation
“For the treating of the mind's disease I shall tell thee the means: leaving every thing that is dear to thee, thou gainest freedom.”
Version
3a052f573951 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The means is named, and it is short to the point of unpleasantness: leave what is dear to you.
The word sva-abhimata means “beloved by oneself, owned as one's own”. Not “bad” and not “forbidden” — precisely the beloved.
That is the whole prescription. No list of injunctions, no schedule of exercises: simply release what you hold on to.
The ground is plain from all that precedes. The mind is designing (4.51), and the designing rests on “mine” (4.71). To release the beloved is to take out of the mind the thing it lives by.
Note the words vyādhi — “disease” — and cikitsā — “treating”. Both return to 3.21, where the mind was named a thing to be treated.
The medicine is bitter, and the next verse will say so outright.