देवा ह वै भगवन्तमब्रुवन्नधीहि भगवन्ब्रह्मविद्याम् । स प्रजापतिरब्रवीत्सशिखान्केशान्निष्कृत्य विसृज्य यज्ञोपवीतं निष्कृत्य पुत्रं दृष्ट्वा त्वं ब्रह्मा त्वं यज्ञस्त्वं वषट्कारस्त्वमोङ्कारस्त्वं स्वाहा त्वं स्वधा त्वं धाता त्वं विधाता त्वं प्रतिष्ठाऽसीति वदेत्
devā ha vai bhagavantamabruvannadhīhi bhagavanbrahmavidyām | sa prajāpatirabravītsaśikhānkeśānniṣkṛtya visṛjya yajñopavītaṃ niṣkṛtya putraṃ dṛṣṭvā tvaṃ brahmā tvaṃ yajñastvaṃ vaṣaṭkārastvamoṅkārastvaṃ svāhā tvaṃ svadhā tvaṃ dhātā tvaṃ vidhātā tvaṃ pratiṣṭhā'sīti vadet
Hari, oṃ. The gods said to the Lord: "teach us, Lord, the knowledge of Brahman." That Prajāpati said: having cut off the hair together with the tuft, having cast off the sacred thread, looking at his son, let him say: "you are Brahmā, you are the sacrifice, you are the exclamation 'vaṣaṭ,' you are 'oṃ,' you are 'svāhā,' you are 'svadhā,' you are Dhātar, you are Vidhātar, you are the support."
46071c8b0a0a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The book opens with a rite, not a teaching, and the rite is saṃnyāsa, "setting aside": departure from the world. The first thing the departing one does is give to his son. Not to the gods, not to the teacher, but to the son; and he gives not property, but names: you are Brahmā, you are the sacrifice, you are "oṃ," you are the support.
The meaning of this act is simple and touching. The one departing was a householder; he performed sacrifices, tended the fire, fed guests and ancestors. All of this must be handed to someone, or it will cease; and he hands it over by calling his son by the very names his own work bore.
It is worth noting that what is cut off is sa-śikhān keśān, "the hair together with the tuft." Śikhā is the tuft on the crown that a brahmin never cuts; and what is cast off is the yajñopavīta, the sacred thread. That is, the one departing removes the marks of caste from himself — ceases to be a brahmin in the social sense.
The Vaiṣṇava side regards this rite with respect but does not consider it necessary, and it is worth saying why. The Gītā says: "not by setting aside deeds does a person attain freedom from action" (3.4), and also: "better is one who, restraining the senses with the mind, does his work" (3.7). One can set aside the marks without setting aside the claims; and one can remain in the household and have no claims. One is judged by the second, not the first.