Upanishads · Mahā 5.67
॥
Devanāgarī
नीरागं निरुपासङ्गं निर्द्वन्द्वं निरुपाश्रयम् विनिर्याति मनो मोहाद्विहङ्गः पञ्जरादिव
Transliteration (IAST)
nīrāgaṃ nirupāsaṅgaṃ nirdvandvaṃ nirupāśrayam viniryāti mano mohādvihaṅgaḥ pañjarādiva
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नीरागम् निरुपासङ्गम्nīrāgam nirupāsaṅgampassionless, without clinging; void of fondness, free of adhesion
निर्द्वन्द्वम् निरुपाश्रयम्nirdvandvam nirupāśrayambeyond the pairs, without support; outside the opposites, without a prop
विनिर्याति मनः मोहात्viniryāti manaḥ mohātthe mind goes forth out of delusion; consciousness issues out of the blinding
विहङ्गः पञ्जरात् इवvihaṅgaḥ pañjarāt ivalike a bird out of its cage; just as a bird from its coop
Translation
“Passionless, without clinging, beyond the pairs and without support, the mind goes forth out of delusion — like a bird out of a cage.”
Version
808ec3ed81e2 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image of the bird released from the cage — set immediately after the image of the torn net (5.65).
Note the difference. A net is torn; a cage is opened. The bird does not break the bars: it simply flies out when the door is open.
This tells what liberation is like from within. No effort is required at the last moment.
The four preceding qualifiers all carry a negation: without passion, without clinging, beyond the pairs, without support.
The last deserves marking: nirupāśraya, “without support”. A bird in flight leans on nothing — and precisely therefore it flies.
Recall 5.45, where the same word is said of Brahman: nirālamba, “without support”. The mind that has left the cage becomes like that toward which it flies.