Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 4
॥
Devanāgarī
नात्यर्थं सुखदुःखाभ्यां शरीरमुपतायेत् । स्तूयमानो न तुषेत निन्दितो न शपेत्परान्
Transliteration (IAST)
nātyarthaṃ sukhaduḥkhābhyāṃ śarīramupatāyet | stūyamāno na tuṣeta nindito na śapetparān
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न अत्यर्थं सुख-दुःखाभ्यांna atyarthaṃ sukha-duḥkhābhyāṃnot excessively, by joy and sorrow
शरीरम् उपतायेत्śarīram upatāyetlet him not exhaust the body
स्तूयमानः न तुष्येत्stūyamānaḥ na tuṣyetpraised, let him not rejoice
निन्दितः न शपेत् परान्ninditaḥ na śapet parānblamed, let him not curse others
Translation
Not excessively, by joy and sorrow, let him exhaust the body; praised, let him not rejoice; blamed, let him not curse others.
Version
8ccd49835efe · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Three rules, all three about what to do with others' opinion. First: do not exhaust the body excessively. Atyartham means "beyond measure"; and this is said of extremes in both directions — from joy as well as from sorrow. The observation is true: the body wears down not only from grief, but from violent joy too, and anyone who has lived through both knows that after intense joy one also falls ill.
The second and third form a pair: stūyamānaḥ na tuṣyet, "praised, let him not rejoice"; ninditaḥ na śapet parān, "blamed, let him not curse others." It is worth noting the difference in the demands. From praise one is told not to rejoice — that is, to hold back an inward movement; but under reviling, one is told only not to curse in return — that is, to hold the tongue. There is no mention of not being grieved; and this is very wise. Not to be grieved by an unjust word is, generally speaking, beyond a person; but not to answer — that one can do.
The Vaiṣṇava side knows this same rule, in her most famous verse — Caitanya's Śikṣāṣṭaka: "more humble than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, not demanding honor for oneself and according it to others." And there too it is not a matter of feeling nothing, but of not demanding and not answering.