Upanishads · Mahā 5.85
॥
Devanāgarī
आस्थामात्रमनन्तानां दुःखानामाकरं विदुः अनास्थामात्रमभितः सुखानामालयं विदुः
Transliteration (IAST)
āsthāmātramanantānāṃ duḥkhānāmākaraṃ viduḥ anāsthāmātramabhitaḥ sukhānāmālayaṃ viduḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आस्था-मात्रम् अनन्तानाम्āsthā-mātram anantānāmmere reliance — of endless; nothing but trustful clinging — of numberless
दुःखानाम् आकरम् विदुःduḥkhānām ākaram viduḥsufferings they know as the mine; torments they account the quarry
अनास्था-मात्रम् अभितःanāsthā-mātram abhitaḥmere non-reliance — on every side; nothing but unclinging — all around
सुखानाम् आलयम् विदुःsukhānām ālayam viduḥthey know as the abode of joys; they account the dwelling of delights
Translation
“Mere reliance they know as the mine of endless sufferings; mere non-reliance — as the abode of joys on every side.”
Version
356b27c9e989 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse repeats 4.110 almost word for word, and the repetition is not superfluous: there the thought was compressed into a half-verse, here it is unfolded.
Āsthā — “reliance, calculation, the investing of significance”.
It is named ākara — “a mine, a quarry”. A workmanlike image: sufferings do not come from without; they are mined like ore, and mined from one place.
And anāsthā is ālaya, “an abode, a dwelling”.
Note the word abhitaḥ — “on every side, all around”. With non-reliance the joys are drawn from no single source; they are everywhere.
The observation is verifiable. To a man who expects nothing, everything that comes is a gift. To one who expects, everything that comes is either too little or not the thing.