Upanishads · Mahā 5.35
॥
Devanāgarī
एषा हि जीवन्मुक्तेषु तुर्यावस्थेति विद्यते विदेहमुक्तिविषयं तुर्यातीतमतः परम्
Transliteration (IAST)
eṣā hi jīvanmukteṣu turyāvastheti vidyate videhamuktiviṣayaṃ turyātītamataḥ param
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एषा हि जीवन्मुक्तेषुeṣā hi jīvanmukteṣuthis, among those liberated in life; it, among the free-while-alive
तुर्य-अवस्था इति विद्यतेturya-avasthā iti vidyateis known as the state of turya; is reckoned the condition of turya
विदेह-मुक्ति-विषयम्videha-mukti-viṣayamthe domain of bodiless liberation; the province of deliverance without a body
तुर्य-अतीतम् अतः परम्turya-atītam ataḥ paramwhat is beyond turya — higher than this; the trans-turya — further than this
Translation
“Among those liberated in life this is known as the state of turya; and higher still is what lies beyond turya — the domain of bodiless liberation.”
Version
5508c610a2cd · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse sets the seventh stage in its place in the general order.
It is turya — the fourth state — in those liberated while living.
And beyond it is turya-atīta, “what has passed beyond turya” — and this is videha-mukti, freedom without a body, spoken of in the second chapter (2.63–2.68).
The result is a coherent ladder spanning both chapters. The seven stages of knowledge lead to turya; turya is liberation in life; beyond it, bodiless liberation.
Note that the word turyātīta is rare and late; it occurs in tantric and yogic texts, where it denotes that for which no count remains: the fifth after the fourth cannot be called fifth.
And further: both highest stages are described through their relation to the body, not through experiences. This is sober.