Upanishads · Mahā 4.107
॥
Devanāgarī
या योदेति मनोनाम्नी वासना वासितान्तरा तां तां परिहरेत्प्राज्ञस्ततोऽविद्याक्षयो भवेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
yā yodeti manonāmnī vāsanā vāsitāntarā tāṃ tāṃ pariharetprājñastato'vidyākṣayo bhavet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
या या उदेति मनः-नाम्नीyā yā udeti manaḥ-nāmnīwhatever rises, called mind; every one that mounts up under the name of consciousness
वासना वासित-अन्तराvāsanā vāsita-antarāa vāsanā that has soaked the inside; an inclination that has steeped the inward parts
ताम् ताम् परिहरे प्राज्ञःtām tām parihare prājñaḥlet the wise man discard each one; may the discerning reject every one
ततः अविद्या-क्षयः भवेत्tataḥ avidyā-kṣayaḥ bhavetthen shall come the wasting of ignorance; then will befall the exhaustion of unknowing
Translation
“Whatever vāsanā rises up under the name of mind, soaking the inside — let the wise man discard each one; then shall come the destruction of ignorance.”
Version
7c64b584db0f · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The method, and it is piecemeal: yā yā… tāṃ tām — “whatever… each one”.
Not at a single stroke, but as they appear.
This is the sober correction to all the verses about severing and slaying. There the limit was named; here, the work.
The word vāsita means “steeped in a scent” — from the same root as vāsanā. The image is exact: the vāsanā does not lie in the mind as a lump; it has soaked it, as scent soaks cloth.
That is why it cannot be taken out; it can only be aired out.
Note too that the vāsanā is directly called “named mind”: manaḥ-nāmnī. Mind and inclination are one (4.101).
And the promise: tato'vidyā-kṣayo bhavet — “then shall come the destruction of ignorance”. Not at once, but “then”: as the fruit of long airing work.