Upanishads · Mahā 6.46
॥
Devanāgarī
निर्मूलं कलनां त्यक्त्वा वासनां यः शमं गतः ज्ञेयं त्यागमिमं विद्धि मुक्तं तं ब्राह्मणोत्तमम्
Transliteration (IAST)
nirmūlaṃ kalanāṃ tyaktvā vāsanāṃ yaḥ śamaṃ gataḥ jñeyaṃ tyāgamimaṃ viddhi muktaṃ taṃ brāhmaṇottamam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
निर्मूलम् कलनाम् त्यक्त्वाnirmūlam kalanām tyaktvāhaving left positing by the root; having cast off measuring-out to the very root
वासनाम् यः शमम् गतःvāsanām yaḥ śamam gataḥand the vāsanā, who has come to calm; and the inclination, whoever has attained stillness
ज्ञेयम् त्यागम् इमम् विद्धिjñeyam tyāgam imam viddhiknow this leaving as the thing to be known; understand this renunciation as what should be understood
मुक्तम् तम् ब्राह्मण-उत्तमम्muktam tam brāhmaṇa-uttamamand him as freed, the best of brāhmaṇas; and him as liberated, the finest of brāhmaṇas
Translation
“Who, having left by the root both the positing and the vāsanā, has come to calm — know this leaving, and know him freed, the best of brāhmaṇas.”
Version
b42f37357dfe · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two things are left: kalanā and vāsanā — “positing” and “inclination”.
That is the whole composition of bondage as the book has defined it: the mind's work and the sediment of that work.
Note nirmūlam — “by the root”, the same word as in 6.7.
And the outcome: śamaṃ gataḥ — “he has come to calm”. The first gatekeeper (4.2) proves also the final sum.
Brāhmaṇottama — “the best of brāhmaṇas”. In the Upaniṣads this word denotes not the estate but the man who truly knows Brahman (cf. brahma-vid-uttama in 4.84).
The whole path, then, ends where its gate stood: in calm.