Upanishads · Mahā 6.28
॥
Devanāgarī
मा खेदं भज हेयेषु नोपादेयपरो भव हेयादेयादृशौ त्यक्त्वा शेषस्थः सुस्थिरो भव
Transliteration (IAST)
mā khedaṃ bhaja heyeṣu nopādeyaparo bhava heyādeyādṛśau tyaktvā śeṣasthaḥ susthiro bhava
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मा खेदम् भज हेयेषुmā khedam bhaja heyeṣudo not grieve over what is discarded; give not thyself to sorrow over the rejected
न उपादेय-परः भवna upādeya-paraḥ bhavabe not devoted to what is taken up; be not attached to what is accepted
हेय-आदेय-दृशौ त्यक्त्वाheya-ādeya-dṛśau tyaktvāleaving both views — of discarded and accepted; having cast off the two outlooks, of rejected and received
शेष-स्थः सु-स्थिरः भवśeṣa-sthaḥ su-sthiraḥ bhavaabiding in the remainder, be very firm; settled in what is left, be most unshaken
Translation
“Do not grieve over what is discarded, nor be devoted to what is taken up; leaving both views — of the discarded and the accepted — abide in the remainder and be very firm.”
Version
18e4d8d5ddce · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The answer to the previous verse's outburst, and a cooling one.
The man was just crying “I shall slay the thief” — and he is told: do not grieve and do not attach.
Note the first line: mā khedaṃ bhaja heyeṣu — “do not grieve over the discarded”. Renunciation must not be bitter. He who leaves with longing has not left.
Heya-ādeya-dṛśau — “the views of the discarded and the accepted”, the familiar pair (4.23, 5.62).
And again śeṣa-stha — “abiding in the remainder” (6.6).
That is the place to stand: not among the accepted and not among the rejected, but in what remains when both are gone.