Upanishads · Parabrahma 14
॥
Devanāgarī
बहिरन्तश्चोपवीती विप्रः संन्यस्तुमर्हति । एकयज्ञोपवीती तु नैव संन्यस्तुमर्हति
Transliteration (IAST)
bahirantaścopavītī vipraḥ saṃnyastumarhati | ekayajñopavītī tu naiva saṃnyastumarhati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बहिः अन्तः च उपवीतीbahiḥ antaḥ ca upavītīwearing the thread both outward and within
विप्रः संन्यस्तुम् अर्हतिvipraḥ saṃnyastum arhatithe vipra is worthy to renounce
एक-यज्ञ-उपवीती तुeka-yajña-upavītī tubut one wearing only one thread
न एव संन्यस्तुम् अर्हतिna eva saṃnyastum arhatiis not worthy to renounce at all
Translation
The vipra wearing the thread both outward and within is worthy to renounce; but one wearing only one thread is not worthy to renounce at all.
Version
06a96f55d2a2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the line for whose sake it is worth reading this book to the end, and it explains at once everything that seemed harsh in it. It is said with full definiteness: worthy to renounce is one who has both threads; and one who has only one is not worthy. And here is what matters: "one" here means either of the two. One wearing only the outer is not ready, because there is nothing behind the mark; one wearing only the inner is likewise not ready — and this is the unexpected part.
Let us think why. The inner thread without the outer is, in essence, imposture: a person has declared himself a wearer of the invisible without having passed through the visible. And renunciation is not the beginning of the path, but its turning point; and one can only turn who has been walking.
The Vaiṣṇava reading considers this rule its own and holds it firmly. In the Vaiṣṇava tradition, sannyāsa is not taken skipping over householding or discipleship, and it is not taken on one's own authority; and every time this rule was broken, it went badly. This line, retroactively, softens all the harsh passages of the book. "Abandon the outer thread" is said to one who has the inner one; and to one who does not, this book says directly: not worthy.