Upanishads · Mahā 5.22
॥
Devanāgarī
वदन्ति बहुभेदेन वादिनो योगभूमिकाः मम त्वभिमता नूनमिमा एव शुभप्रदाः
Transliteration (IAST)
vadanti bahubhedena vādino yogabhūmikāḥ mama tvabhimatā nūnamimā eva śubhapradāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वदन्ति बहु-भेदेनvadanti bahu-bhedenathey speak with many divisions; they discourse in a multitude of ways
वादिनः योग-भूमिकाःvādinaḥ yoga-bhūmikāḥthe disputants, of the stages of yoga; the debaters, about the degrees of yoga
मम तु अभिमताः नूनम्mama tu abhimatāḥ nūnambut to me are dear, surely; to me, however, are agreeable, truly
इमाः एव शुभ-प्रदाःimāḥ eva śubha-pradāḥjust these, the givers of good; precisely these, which bestow blessing
Translation
“The disputants speak of the stages of yoga in many divisions; but to me these are dear — the givers of good.”
Version
7f5ce71b18bc · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A modest verse, and its modesty deserves notice.
The teacher does not say “the truth is thus”. He says: mama tu abhimatāḥ — “but to me these are dear”.
This is the voice of a man who knows that the stages are disputed and does not undertake to close the dispute.
Recall 4.74, where seekers of freedom are forbidden to occupy the mind with debates. Here Ṛbhu acts by his own rule: he lists others' opinions in a single line and does not argue.
The word vādin — “disputant, participant in debate” — is the same as in 4.73–4.74.
And the ground of the choice is given not as scholarship but simply: śubha-prada — “givers of good”. A good scheme is the one that makes people better.
This, incidentally, is the only measure applicable to such things without dispute.