Upanishads · Mahā 5.26
॥
Devanāgarī
आसामन्तस्थिता मुक्तिर्यस्यां भूयो न शोचति एतासां भूमिकानां त्वमिदं निर्वचनं श्रुणु
Transliteration (IAST)
āsāmantasthitā muktiryasyāṃ bhūyo na śocati etāsāṃ bhūmikānāṃ tvamidaṃ nirvacanaṃ śruṇu
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आसाम् अन्त-स्थिता मुक्तिःāsām anta-sthitā muktiḥat their end stands freedom; upon their completion is deliverance established
यस्याम् भूयः न शोचतिyasyām bhūyaḥ na śocatiin which one grieves no more; abiding wherein, one sorrows no further
एतासाम् भूमिकानाम् त्वम्etāsām bhūmikānām tvamof these stages thou; of these steps thou
इदम् निर्वचनम् श्रुणुidam nirvacanam śruṇuhear this explication; give ear to this interpretation
Translation
“At the end of them stands freedom, in which a man grieves no more. Hear now the explication of these stages.”
Version
d23542ffa93a · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A repetition of what was said in 5.23: freedom is at the end, not on the ladder.
And the definition of freedom is again given through grief: bhūyo na śocati — “he grieves no more”.
This is the third time in the book that the fruit of knowledge is named the end of grieving (cf. 4.24, 4.103). The Upaniṣads rarely promise anything else.
Note the sobriety of such a promise. Not bliss, not power, not visions. Simply, a man stops sorrowing.
The word nirvacana — “explication, the interpreting of a name”. What follows is the analysis of each stage by its title: what “good desire” means, what “inquiry” means, and so on.
This is a lexicographer's device and a very ancient one: to explain a thing through its name.