Upanishads · Mahā 6.59
॥
Devanāgarī
एतेषां प्रथमः प्रोक्तस्तृष्णया बन्धयोग्यया शुद्धतृष्णास्त्रयः स्वच्छा जीवन्मुक्ता विलासिनः
Transliteration (IAST)
eteṣāṃ prathamaḥ proktastṛṣṇayā bandhayogyayā śuddhatṛṣṇāstrayaḥ svacchā jīvanmuktā vilāsinaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतेषाम् प्रथमः प्रोक्तःeteṣām prathamaḥ proktaḥof these the first is declared; among these the first is pronounced
तृष्णया बन्ध-योग्ययाtṛṣṇayā bandha-yogyayāto be craving fit for binding; a thirst capable of fettering
शुद्ध-तृष्णाः त्रयः स्वच्छाःśuddha-tṛṣṇāḥ trayaḥ svacchāḥthree are of pure craving, limpid; three are of stainless thirst, transparent
जीवन्मुक्ताः विलासिनःjīvanmuktāḥ vilāsinaḥliberated in life, players; free while alive, sporting ones
Translation
“Of these the first is declared a craving fit for binding; the three of pure craving, limpid, are the liberated-in-life, the players.”
Version
3f26d05e14a2 · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The sum of the analysis, and in it the two moves are joined: the four convictions and the two cravings (6.50).
The first conviction is the binding craving. The other three are śuddha-tṛṣṇā, “pure craving”.
Note: the craving has not vanished even in the three higher. It has become pure.
This repeats 2.40: in the liberated the vāsanās are pure, not absent.
And the last word: vilāsinaḥ — “the players, the sporting ones”.
The liberated are named players. The word vilāsa, “sport”, has run through the whole book — from saṁsāra as the play of the mind (4.67) to the mind as the play of the Lord (4.86); here it is applied to men.
Those who have walked the path live playfully. And that is what the chapter opened with: līlayā vihara (6.1).