Upanishads · Parabrahma 6
॥
Devanāgarī
नाशुचित्वं न चोच्छिष्टं तस्य सूत्रस्य धारणात् । सूत्रमन्तर्गतं येषां ज्ञानयज्ञोपवीतिनाम्
Transliteration (IAST)
nāśucitvaṃ na cocchiṣṭaṃ tasya sūtrasya dhāraṇāt | sūtramantargataṃ yeṣāṃ jñānayajñopavītinām
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न अ-शुचि-त्वं न च उच्छिष्टंna a-śuci-tvaṃ na ca ucchiṣṭaṃneither impurity nor leftover food
तस्य सूत्रस्य धारणात्tasya sūtrasya dhāraṇātfrom the wearing of that thread
सूत्रम् अन्तर्-गतं येषांsūtram antar-gataṃ yeṣāṃfor whom the thread is within
ज्ञान-यज्ञ-उपवीतिनाम्jñāna-yajña-upavītināmwearers of the thread of knowledge
Translation
From the wearing of that thread — neither impurity nor defilement by leftover food — for those whose thread is within, wearers of the thread of knowledge.
Version
2a721202420d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The line promises freedom from two everyday defilements: aśucitva, "impurity," and ucchiṣṭa, "leftover food [in the mouth]." The second word deserves explaining, for it belongs to a realm foreign to us. Ucchiṣṭa is the remnant of food in the mouth and on the hands during eating; by custom, a person in this state could touch nothing, speak no sacred words, and touch no thread, until washed.
This custom was burdensome and bound the day hand and foot; and the promise of freedom from it was, for the ancient reader, no abstraction, but quite tangible relief. It is worth noting, however, the qualification: this freedom belongs to those yeṣāṃ sūtram antargatam, "whose thread is within." That is, the custom is not abolished in general; it is said that the inner thread is not defiled — because neither hands nor food can reach it.
The Vaiṣṇava reading has sympathy for this passage and adds its own, quite definite point. In the Vaiṣṇava tradition, ucchiṣṭa has reversed its meaning: the remnant of His food is not defilement but sanctity, and is called mahā-prasāda. That is, the very word once avoided has become, in the Vaiṣṇava tradition, the name of the most desired thing; and in this reversal lies the whole difference between purity by rule and purity by belonging.