Upanishads · Mahā 5.110
॥
Devanāgarī
विद्या सम्प्राप्यते ब्रह्मन्सर्वदोषापहारिणी शाम्यति ह्यस्त्रमस्त्रेण मलेन क्षाल्यते मलम्
Transliteration (IAST)
vidyā samprāpyate brahmansarvadoṣāpahāriṇī śāmyati hyastramastreṇa malena kṣālyate malam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विद्या सम्प्राप्यते ब्रह्मन्vidyā samprāpyate brahmanknowledge is obtained, O brāhmaṇa; understanding is attained, O brāhmaṇa
सर्व-दोष-अपहारिणीsarva-doṣa-apahāriṇīthat carries away all faults; which removes every defect
शाम्यति हि अस्त्रम् अस्त्रेणśāmyati hi astram astreṇafor weapon is stilled by weapon; since arms are quieted by arms
मलेन क्षाल्यते मलम्malena kṣālyate malamand dirt is washed off with dirt; and filth is rinsed away with filth
Translation
“Thus is obtained, O brāhmaṇa, the knowledge that carries away all faults; for weapon is stilled by weapon, and dirt is washed off with dirt.”
Version
b335d74345e5 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two examples in confirmation that ignorance can be abolished by ignorance.
Weapon against weapon is plain.
But malena kṣālyate malam — “dirt is washed off with dirt” — needs explaining, and the explanation is homely. Lye, ash, clay: everything men washed with in antiquity is itself unclean, yet it takes the dirt off.
The image is honest. Teaching, reasoning, books — all this is the mind's work and therefore also “dirt”. And still one washes with them.
The next verse will give two more examples of the same kind.
Note the definition of knowledge: sarva-doṣa-apahāriṇī — “carrying away all faults”. Not “supplying information”.