Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 110
॥
Devanāgarī
शब्दब्रह्मणि निष्णातः परं ब्रह्माधिगच्छति ॥ 17॥ ग्रन्थमभ्यस्य मेधावी ज्ञानविज्ञानतत्परः । पलालमिव धान्यार्थी त्यजेद्ग्रन्थमशेषतः ॥ 18॥ गवामनेकवर्णानां क्षीरस्याप्येकवर्णता
Transliteration (IAST)
śabdabrahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ paraṃ brahmādhigacchati || 17|| granthamabhyasya medhāvī jñānavijñānatatparaḥ | palālamiva dhānyārthī tyajedgranthamaśeṣataḥ || 18|| gavāmanekavarṇānāṃ kṣīrasyāpyekavarṇatā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शब्द-ब्रह्मणि निष्णातःśabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥone versed in the sound-Brahman
परं ब्रह्म अधिगच्छतिparaṃ brahma adhigacchatireaches the highest Brahman
ग्रन्थं अभ्यस्य मेधावीgranthaṃ abhyasya medhāvīhaving studied the book, the wise one
पलालम् इव धान्य-अर्थीpalālam iva dhānya-arthīas a seeker of grain — the chaff
त्यजेत् ग्रन्थं अशेषतःtyajet granthaṃ aśeṣataḥlet him abandon the book entirely
Translation
«One versed in the sound-Brahman reaches the highest Brahman. Having studied the book, the wise one, intent on knowledge and discernment — as a seeker of grain [abandons] the chaff — let him abandon the book entirely».
Version
d800e8033d77 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
This verse (it stands also in the Amṛtabindu, 18) is famous and often cited: having studied the book, abandon it, as a thresher abandons chaff, once he has taken the grain. The first half of the verse, however, matters more than the second, and is looked at less often: śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ paraṃ brahma adhigacchati, «versed in the sound-Brahman, one reaches the highest». This is from the Maitrī-upaniṣad (6.22), and it says that the road to the highest goes through the word, not around it.
That is, the book is abandoned not instead of study, but after it. Niṣṇāta means «washed, versed, reached the bottom»; and abandonment is permitted to one who has reached the bottom, not to one too lazy to read. This qualification deserves being stressed, for the verse's second half is readily repeated by people who have not done the first. Chaff is thrown away by one who has grain in hand; one who has no grain throws away not the chaff, but everything.
The Vaishnava school holds to exactly this order: first study and discernment, then abandonment. The Gītā says: «having understood this, you will not fall into delusion again» (4.35) — and there, understanding stands before peace, not in its place.