Upanishads · Avadhūta 25
॥
Devanāgarī
विष्णुं ध्यायतु धीर्यद्वा ब्रह्मानन्दे विलीयताम् । साक्ष्यहं किंचिदप्यत्र न कुर्वे नापि कारये
Transliteration (IAST)
viṣṇuṃ dhyāyatu dhīryadvā brahmānande vilīyatām | sākṣyahaṃ kiṃcidapyatra na kurve nāpi kāraye
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विष्णुं ध्यायतु धीः यत् वाviṣṇuṃ dhyāyatu dhīḥ yat vālet the mind contemplate Viṣṇu, or
ब्रह्म-आनन्दे विलीयताम्brahma-ānande vilīyatāmlet it dissolve in the bliss of brahman
साक्षी अहं किंचित् अपि अत्रsākṣī ahaṃ kiṃcit api atraI am the witness; nothing here
न कुर्वे न अपि कारयेna kurve na api kārayedo I do, nor do I cause to be done
Translation
Let the mind contemplate Viṣṇu, or let it dissolve in the bliss of brahman; I am the witness: I do nothing here, nor do I cause anything to be done.
Version
fc8e1ae34fd5 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
This line stands apart in the collection of one hundred and eight, and it deserves being written out: viṣṇum dhyāyatu dhīḥ, "let the mind contemplate Viṣṇu." Note where it is placed. This is a book of sannyāsa, of Śaiva and Advaitic cast, and it is Dattātreya who speaks. And here, in the list of what the mind of one who has attained may be occupied with, two possibilities are named: to contemplate Viṣṇu — or to dissolve in the bliss of brahman.
The two possibilities are set side by side by the conjunction yad vā, "or else"; that is, no preference is expressed. But note that it is not the impersonal that is named first. The Vaiṣṇava reading cites this line gladly and draws from it a moderate conclusion. It does not prove that the book is ours; it proves that even in such a book, contemplation of Viṣṇu stands on a par with dissolution — that is, that this path is acknowledged as one's own and not relegated to lower stages.
Let us add about the second half: sākṣī aham... na kurve na api kāraye, "I am the witness: I do not act, nor do I cause to be done." The second addition is important and rare: it says not only "I do not act," but also "I compel no one."
This, it seems to me, is the best thing in the line. One who has attained not only does not grasp for himself — he does not pull others either; and one who, having changed, immediately starts remaking his household has not yet heard of this line.