Upanishads · Avadhūta 9
॥
Devanāgarī
ऐहिकामुष्मिकव्रातसिद्धै मुक्तेश्च सिद्धये । बहुकृत्यं पुरा स्यान्मे तत्सर्वमधुना कृतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
aihikāmuṣmikavrātasiddhai mukteśca siddhaye | bahukṛtyaṃ purā syānme tatsarvamadhunā kṛtam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ऐहिक-आमुष्मिक-व्रात-सिद्धौaihika-āmuṣmika-vrāta-siddhaufor the attainment of the many things of this world and the next
मुक्तेः च सिद्धयेmukteḥ ca siddhayeand for the attainment of liberation
बहु-कृत्यं पुरा स्यात् मेbahu-kṛtyaṃ purā syāt memuch work was once mine
तत् सर्वम् अधुना कृतम्tat sarvam adhunā kṛtamall that is now done
Translation
For the attainment of the many things of this world and the next, and for the attainment of liberation — much work was once mine: all that is now done.
Version
d8cd9ca04641 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A speech in the first person begins, and it will run for twenty-four lines: the avadhūta speaks of himself. It is worth noting the structure of the very first sentence: purā syān me… tat sarvam adhunā kṛtam, "once mine was… all that is now done."
This speaks of a change in time: it was once, it is done now. That is, the speaker does not deny that he once had much work and many goals; he says that this has ended. This qualification matters and deserves keeping, for it contradicts the verse just cited. There it says: there is neither one striving nor one liberated; here — "once I had much work, and now it is done." The second is a description of a path, and this path is acknowledged as traveled.
This is why the Vaiṣṇava reading prefers such passages to the abstract ones. Here a person speaks, not a doctrine; and this person remembers what was before and knows what has changed. The admission "it was before, it is done now" is testimony to an event; and an event requires someone to whom it happened.