Upanishads · Avadhūta 13
॥
Devanāgarī
व्याचक्षतां ते शास्त्राणि वेदानध्यापयन्तु वा । येऽत्राधिकारिणो मे तु नाधिकारोऽक्रियत्वतः
Transliteration (IAST)
vyācakṣatāṃ te śāstrāṇi vedānadhyāpayantu vā | ye'trādhikāriṇo me tu nādhikāro'kriyatvataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
व्याचक्षतां ते शास्त्राणिvyācakṣatāṃ te śāstrāṇilet them expound the scriptures
वेदान् अध्यापयन्तु वाvedān adhyāpayantu vāor teach the Vedas
ये अत्र अधिकारिणःye atra adhikāriṇaḥthose who have the right to this
मे तु न अधिकारः अ-क्रिय-त्वतःme tu na adhikāraḥ a-kriya-tvataḥbut I have no right, from inaction
Translation
Let those who have the right to it expound the scriptures or teach the Vedas; but I have no right — from inaction.
Version
791b55d28aa5 · published Aug 6, 2026, 4:24:37 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
This line is notable for saying something unexpected: the speaker has na adhikāraḥ, "no right." The word adhikāra, "right, authority, fitness," was discussed when reading the Annapūrṇā (4.73). Here it is used with a curious twist: one who has attained has no right to teach — because he is akriya, "inactive."
How different this is from the usual course. Usually one who has attained is credited with the right to teach everyone; but here the opposite is said: the right to teach belongs to those in action, and he has stepped out of action. Let me say what is good about this position and what is bad.
It is good in that it guards against impostors in mentorship: not everyone who has attained something is fit to teach. Teaching is a task with its own requirements — patience, clarity of speech, knowledge of people; and a person who lacks all of this had better stay silent, however high he stands. It is bad in that if all who have attained fall silent, teaching will be left to those who have not. This is why the Vaiṣṇava reading does not accept this rule: in the Vaiṣṇava tradition the duty to teach falls precisely on the one who has received, and the Gītā says: "no one is dearer to Me than one who proclaims this highest secret to My devotees" (18.68–69).