Upanishads · Mahā 6.41
॥
Devanāgarī
अहमेषां पदार्थानामेते च मम जीवितम् नाहमेभिर्विना किंचिन्न मयैते विना किल
Transliteration (IAST)
ahameṣāṃ padārthānāmete ca mama jīvitam nāhamebhirvinā kiṃcinna mayaite vinā kila
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहम् एषाम् पदार्थानाम्aham eṣām padārthānām“I belong to these things”; “I am these objects' own”
एते च मम जीवितम्ete ca mama jīvitam“and they are my life”; “and they are the life of me”
न अहम् एभिः विना किंचित्na aham ebhiḥ vinā kiṃcit“without them I am nothing”; “apart from them I am nothing at all”
न मया एते विना किलna mayā ete vinā kila“and they without me are nothing, surely”; “and they without me, truly, are nothing”
Translation
“‘I belong to these things, and they are my life; without them I am nothing, and they without me are nothing’ —”
Version
2ae28a9b3ab6 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Four turns of phrase, and all of them about the coupling with things.
Note their construction: the first two and the last two are mirrored. I belong to them — they belong to me. I am nothing without them — they are nothing without me.
This is the exact picture of what we call attachment: a mutual surety.
The word padārtha — “thing”, literally “what stands behind the word” (cf. 2.41).
Note too ete ca mama jīvitam — “they are my life”. A phrase every one of us has spoken aloud.
The next verse will say what to do with this.