Upanishads · Avadhūta 6
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा रविः सर्वरसान्प्रभुङ्क्ते हुताशनश्चापि हि सर्वभक्षः । तथैव योगी विषयान्प्रभुङ्क्ते न लिप्यते पुण्यपापैश्च शुद्धः
Transliteration (IAST)
yathā raviḥ sarvarasānprabhuṅkte hutāśanaścāpi hi sarvabhakṣaḥ | tathaiva yogī viṣayānprabhuṅkte na lipyate puṇyapāpaiśca śuddhaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यथा रविः सर्व-रसान् प्रभुङ्क्तेyathā raviḥ sarva-rasān prabhuṅkteas the sun partakes of all the saps
हुताशनः च अपि हि सर्व-भक्षःhutāśanaḥ ca api hi sarva-bhakṣaḥand fire indeed devours all
तथा एव योगी विषयान् प्रभुङ्क्तेtathā eva yogī viṣayān prabhuṅktejust so the yogi partakes of objects
न लिप्यते पुण्य-पापैः च शुद्धःna lipyate puṇya-pāpaiḥ ca śuddhaḥand, pure, is not stained by merit or by sin
Translation
As the sun draws up all the saps, and as fire devours all — so too the yogi partakes of objects and, pure, is not stained by merit or by sin.
Version
c11d40ecb2e5 · published Aug 6, 2026, 4:24:37 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two similes, and both are taken from elements that purify by what they consume. The sun draws moisture from everywhere — from swamp and river, from the clean and the dirty; and the water it lifts falls as rain, pure. Fire devours anything at all — and remains pure; moreover, it is used to purify other things.
The similes are good and constant in Vaiṣṇava books. The Manu-smṛti says: "fire, water, the sun, and wind are not defiled"; and this rule is applied in practice to this day. But let us note what these similes do not say. Fire is not defiled because it burns up what it takes, rather than keeping it; the sun, because it evaporates, leaving the dirt below. That is, both are pure not because it is all the same to them, but because they do something with what they receive: they process it beyond recognition.
The Vaiṣṇava reading takes its measure from exactly this. One is not stained who transforms what he receives; but one who receives and keeps it within unchanged is not the sun and not fire, but a vessel. And this can be tested: from the sun comes rain; from a vessel, exactly what was poured in.