Upanishads · Parabrahma 15p
॥
Devanāgarī
बहिःप्रपञ्चशिखोपवीतित्वमनादृत्य प्रणवहंसशिखोपवीतित्वमवलम्ब्य मोक्षसाधनं कुर्यादित्याह भगवाञ्छौनक
Transliteration (IAST)
bahiḥprapañcaśikhopavītitvamanādṛtya praṇavahaṃsaśikhopavītitvamavalambya mokṣasādhanaṃ kuryādityāha bhagavāñchaunaka
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बहिः-प्रपञ्च-शिखा-उपवीति-त्वम्bahiḥ-prapañca-śikhā-upavīti-tvamworldly wearing of the tuft and thread
अन्-आदृत्यan-ādṛtyanot having honored
प्रणव-हंस-शिखा-उपवीति-त्वम् अवलम्ब्यpraṇava-haṃsa-śikhā-upavīti-tvam avalambyahaving resorted to the wearing of the tuft and thread of the praṇava and haṃsa
मोक्ष-साधनं कुर्यात्mokṣa-sādhanaṃ kuryātlet him accomplish the means of liberation
इति आह भगवान् शौनकःiti āha bhagavān śaunakaḥso said the venerable Śaunaka
Translation
Not having honored the worldly wearing of the tuft and thread, and having resorted to the wearing of the tuft and thread of the praṇava and haṃsa, let him accomplish the means of liberation — so said the venerable Śaunaka.
Version
e9242d55a966 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The book ends, and ends unexpectedly: the closing words are spoken by Śaunaka, the one who asked at the beginning. Look at this structure. He began with a question and ends with an instruction; and between the beginning and the end lies everything Pippalāda told him. That is, the questioner has become the speaker, and the book has shown this not by words, but by whom it gives the last word to.
This construction occurs in the upaniṣads and is always significant. It means that the teaching has arrived: the pupil does not repeat, but speaks for himself, and says the same thing. It is worth noting the verb too: avalambya, "having resorted to, having taken hold of," from ava-lamb, "to hang, to hold on to." That is, the inner thread is not worn as an ornament — one holds on to it, as one who hangs holds on.
Let me sum up the book. It is small and built entirely on one comparison: the thread. And this comparison bore more than could have been expected. What is worth remembering from it: "the realization of the oneness of brahman and the Ātman must be abandoned" (1.15) — a line unique in the collection of one hundred and eight; the negation of all four corners, including non-difference (1.14); "the haṃsa of the praṇava is the Highest brahman, not the breath-haṃsa" (1.12); gems on a thread (4); and — as the key to all its harshness — "one wearing only one thread is not worthy to renounce" (14).
And its final word is a verb meaning: hold on.