Upanishads · Mahā 4.91
॥
Devanāgarī
भव भावनया मुक्तो मुक्तः परमया धिया धारयात्मानमव्यग्रो ग्रस्तचित्तं चितः पदम्
Transliteration (IAST)
bhava bhāvanayā mukto muktaḥ paramayā dhiyā dhārayātmānamavyagro grastacittaṃ citaḥ padam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भव भावनया मुक्तःbhava bhāvanayā muktaḥbe freed by contemplation; be free through musing
मुक्तः परमया धियाmuktaḥ paramayā dhiyāfreed by the highest reason; delivered by supreme understanding
धारय आत्मानम् अव्यग्रःdhāraya ātmānam avyagraḥhold thyself, unhurried; keep thyself steady, without darting about
ग्रस्त-चित्तम् चितः पदम्grasta-cittam citaḥ padamthe mind swallowed — the station of consciousness; consciousness devoured — the state of awareness
Translation
“Be freed by contemplation, freed by the highest reason; hold thyself unhurried — in the station of consciousness, in which the mind is swallowed up.”
Version
1c52c7649147 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A dense verse, and in it three orders in a row.
First: bhāvanayā muktaḥ — “freed by contemplation”. The word bhāvanā has already occurred (4.15): the nurturing of a thought to a glow.
Second: paramayā dhiyā — “by the highest reason”. Not by the intellect that sorts, but by the understanding that sees.
Third: dhāraya ātmānam avyagraḥ — “hold thyself, without darting”. Avyagra means “unhurried, not scattered”.
And the definition of the goal: grasta-cittaṃ citaḥ padam — “the station of consciousness that has swallowed the mind”.
The image is strong: the citta is not cast off, but grasta — “devoured”. The lesser is taken into the greater.
This is more exact than “destroyed”. The mind is not killed; it ceases to be separate, dissolving into that from which it came — as a wave does not perish, but turns out to be water.