Upanishads · Mahā 5.51
॥
Devanāgarī
जडतां वर्जयित्वैकां शिलाया हृदयं हि तत् अमनस्कस्वरूपं यत्तन्मयो भव सर्वदा चित्तं दूरे परित्यज्य योऽसि सोऽसि स्थिरो भव
Transliteration (IAST)
jaḍatāṃ varjayitvaikāṃ śilāyā hṛdayaṃ hi tat amanaskasvarūpaṃ yattanmayo bhava sarvadā cittaṃ dūre parityajya yo'si so'si sthiro bhava
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जडताम् वर्जयित्वा एकाम्jaḍatām varjayitvā ekāmhaving excluded inertness alone; having removed nothing but the torpor
शिलायाः हृदयम् हि तत्śilāyāḥ hṛdayam hi tatit is indeed the heart of a stone; it is the very core of the rock
अमनस्क-स्वरूपम् यत्amanaska-svarūpam yatthat nature which is without mind; the said essence, devoid of consciousness
तन्मयः भव सर्वदाtanmayaḥ bhava sarvadābe made of that always; abide as it perpetually
चित्तम् दूरे परित्यज्यcittam dūre parityajyahaving cast the mind far away; having flung consciousness far off
यः असि सः असिyaḥ asi saḥ asiwho thou art, that thou art; who thou art, that very one thou art
स्थिरः भवsthiraḥ bhavabe firm; be unshakable
Translation
“Excluding inertness alone, it is the heart of a stone, the nature without mind; be made of it always. Casting the mind far away — who thou art, that thou art: be firm.”
Version
333ec4bc9e74 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third refrain-verse, and in it an image worth remembering: śilāyā hṛdayam — “the heart of a stone”.
It is the same as the stone, save for one thing: the inertness.
Take the stone's stillness, its unconcern, its indestructibility — and take out of it the insentience. What remains is the thing sought.
This is the most exact description the book has given.
And the last line is the best in the whole chapter: yo'si so'si sthiro bhava.
“Who thou art, that thou art. Be firm.”
Nothing has to be become. No need to turn into another, to procure, to ascend. Cast off the mind — and thou remainest who thou art anyway.
Recall 4.72: “thou art free; cast off the delusion”. Here the same thought, said still more briefly, and on it the chapter's first half ends.