Upanishads · Mahā 5.31
॥
Devanāgarī
दशाचतुष्टयाभ्यासादसंसर्गकला तु या रूढसत्त्वचमत्कारा प्रोक्ता संसक्तिनामिका
Transliteration (IAST)
daśācatuṣṭayābhyāsādasaṃsargakalā tu yā rūḍhasattvacamatkārā proktā saṃsaktināmikā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दशा-चतुष्टय-अभ्यासात्daśā-catuṣṭaya-abhyāsātfrom practice in the four conditions; from application in the four degrees
असंसर्ग-कला तु याasaṃsarga-kalā tu yāthat measure of non-mingling; the said portion of non-contact
रूढ-सत्त्व-चमत्काराrūḍha-sattva-camatkārāwith the wonder of being deeply rooted; wherein the marvel of sattva has taken root
प्रोक्ता असंसक्ति-नामिकाproktā asaṃsakti-nāmikāis declared the one named non-attachment; is styled the one called non-clinging
Translation
“From practice in the four conditions, that measure of non-mingling in which the wonder of being has taken root is declared non-attachment.”
Version
699d81f6b7fb · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth stage, and in it again appears the word camatkāra — “wonder, amazement”.
It occurred already in 4.14, where the joining of doership and non-doership in Brahman was so named.
Here the “wonder of being” is rūḍha — “rooted”. That is, amazement before what is has become constant.
This is a remarkable trait. The fifth stage is described not as a cooling, but as an unpassing amazement.
Asaṃsarga — “non-mingling, non-contact”; asaṃsakti — “non-clinging”. Both words are of the same: the man is present and does not blend.
Note that non-attachment is set above settledness in being. First one must stand on something, and only then can one hold to nothing. The reverse order yields not freedom but indifference.