Upanishads · Mahā 5.169
॥
Devanāgarī
यैरेव जायते रागो मूर्खस्याधिकतां गतैः तैरेव भागैः प्राज्ञस्य विराग उपजायते
Transliteration (IAST)
yaireva jāyate rāgo mūrkhasyādhikatāṃ gataiḥ taireva bhāgaiḥ prājñasya virāga upajāyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यैः एव जायते रागःyaiḥ eva jāyate rāgaḥfrom the very things by which passion is born; out of the very things whence fondness arises
मूर्खस्य अधिकताम् गतैःmūrkhasya adhikatām gataiḥin the fool, when they have multiplied; in the dullard, upon their increase
तैः एव भागैः प्राज्ञस्यtaiḥ eva bhāgaiḥ prājñasyafrom those same portions, in the wise man; out of the same shares, in the discerning
विरागः उपजायतेvirāgaḥ upajāyatedispassion is born; detachment comes to birth
Translation
“From the very things which, multiplied, breed passion in the fool — from those same portions dispassion is born in the wise.”
Version
0409a93351dc · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A remarkable verse, and worth memorizing.
One and the same thing — multiplied property, station, success — rouses greed in one man and aversion in another.
Note the expression taireva bhāgaiḥ — “from those very same portions”. Not from different circumstances, but literally the same.
That is, the matter is not what happened to a man. The matter is who he is.
This removes the chief misunderstanding about dispassion: that it comes from deprivation.
It comes from understanding — and comes sooner to him who has been given much, because he sees more clearly that it is not enough.
Recall Janaka with his kingdom and inner chambers (2.24–2.28). He was not poor.