Upanishads · Mahā 6.32
॥
Devanāgarī
अनया तीक्ष्णया तात छिन्धि बुद्धिशलाकया वात्ययेवाम्बुदं जालं छित्त्वा तिष्ठ तते पदे
Transliteration (IAST)
anayā tīkṣṇayā tāta chindhi buddhiśalākayā vātyayevāmbudaṃ jālaṃ chittvā tiṣṭha tate pade
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनया तीक्ष्णया तातanayā tīkṣṇayā tātawith this sharp one, dear child; with the said keen one, my son
छिन्धि बुद्धि-शलाकयाchindhi buddhi-śalākayācut it — with the needle of reason; sever it with the bodkin of understanding
वात्यया इव अम्बुदम् जालम्vātyayā iva ambudam jālamas a gale the cloud — the net; just as a whirlwind the rain-cloud — the net
छित्त्वा तिष्ठ तते पदेchittvā tiṣṭha tate padehaving cut, abide in the outspread state; having severed, dwell in the extended station
Translation
“Cut it with this sharp needle of reason, dear child; and, having cut the net as a gale cuts the cloud, abide in the outspread state.”
Version
5172513baad8 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The tool is named: buddhi-śalākā — “the needle, the bodkin of reason”.
Note the choice of word. Not a sword and not an axe: śalākā is a thin rod, a needle — the tool with which nets are mended and eyes couched of cataract.
A net is cut not by hacking but by unpicking.
The second comparison — the gale and the cloud — was already in 4.95: the autumn clouds are scattered by the wind.
The address tāta — “dear one, my son”. In this chapter the teacher speaks gently (cf. 5.1).
And the goal: tate pade — “in the outspread state”. The word tata, “stretched”, in 6.31 was said of the net; here, of what lies beyond it.
One and the same word: the net is outspread, and He is outspread. But the net with threads, and He with Himself.