Upanishads · Parabrahma 5
॥
Devanāgarī
बहिःसूत्रं त्यजेद्विप्रो योगविज्ञानतत्परः । ब्रह्मभावमिदं सूत्रं धारयेद्यः स मुक्तिभाक्
Transliteration (IAST)
bahiḥsūtraṃ tyajedvipro yogavijñānatatparaḥ | brahmabhāvamidaṃ sūtraṃ dhārayedyaḥ sa muktibhāk
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बहिः-सूत्रं त्यजेत् विप्रःbahiḥ-sūtraṃ tyajet vipraḥlet the vipra abandon the outer thread
योग-विज्ञान-तत्-परःyoga-vijñāna-tat-paraḥdevoted to the knowledge of yoga
ब्रह्म-भावम् इदं सूत्रंbrahma-bhāvam idaṃ sūtraṃthis thread — the being of brahman
धारयेत् यः सः मुक्ति-भाक्dhārayet yaḥ saḥ mukti-bhākwhoever wears it has a share in liberation
Translation
Let the vipra, devoted to the knowledge of yoga, abandon the outer thread; whoever wears this thread — the being of brahman — has a share in liberation.
Version
3e7c2038c34e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The word mukti-bhāk, "one who has a share in liberation," deserves noting, for it is more modest than the usual. Bhaj means "to divide, to participate, to have a share"; bhāk is one who has received a portion. It is said, then, not "is liberated," but — receives a share in liberation.
This nuance is valuable in Vaiṣṇava books, and this word is of the same root as bhakti: "sharing, portion, devotion." Its original meaning is participation; and so in the Vaiṣṇava tradition one does not say "I have attained," but "a share has come to me." It is worth noting also the qualification yoga-vijñāna-tat-paraḥ, "devoted to the knowledge of yoga." It is set as a condition: not every vipra removes the thread, but one who is occupied with knowing.
The Vaiṣṇava reading draws from this the same rule as before. The abandonment of the outer is a consequence of occupation with the inner, not a precondition; and this order cannot be reversed. First a person becomes tat-para, "devoted to that"; and then the former falls away by itself, as an old skin falls away from a snake, as discussed when reading the Adhyātma (2.13).