Upanishads · Bhāvanā p35
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वव्यतिरिक्तवस्तुसङ्गरहितस्मरणां विभूषणम् । सच्चित्सुखपरिपूर्णतास्मरणं गन्धः
Transliteration (IAST)
svavyatiriktavastusaṅgarahitasmaraṇāṃ vibhūṣaṇam | saccitsukhaparipūrṇatāsmaraṇaṃ gandhaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्व-व्यतिरिक्त-वस्तु-सङ्ग-रहित-स्मरणंsva-vyatirikta-vastu-saṅga-rahita-smaraṇaṃremembrance, free of attachment to things other than oneself
विभूषणम्vibhūṣaṇamis ornament
सत्-चित्-सुख-परिपूर्णता-स्मरणं गन्धःsat-cit-sukha-paripūrṇatā-smaraṇaṃ gandhaḥremembrance of the fullness of being, consciousness, and happiness — fragrance
Translation
Remembrance, free of attachment to things other than oneself, is ornament; remembrance of the fullness of being, consciousness, and happiness — fragrance.
Version
4fdbe75ab449 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The ninth and tenth services: vibhūṣaṇa, ornaments, and gandha, the fragrant paste with which the image is anointed. Both are reinterpreted through smaraṇa, "remembrance"; and this word deserves attention, for it is one of the chief ones in the Vaiṣṇava mapping of service too. In the famous list of nine forms of service (Bhāgavatam 7.5.23), smaraṇam stands third — after hearing and chanting. That is, remembrance is not an abstract state but a task, and moreover a task one is taught: to remember Him through the day, to recall Him on every occasion, to tie memory to whatever one is doing.
It is worth noting, however, the difference in object. Here one remembers fullness — being, consciousness, happiness; there one remembers Him — a name, a form, qualities, deeds. The first is remembrance of a state, the second of a person; and the second is easier, for a person remembers a person by himself, without effort, if that person is dear to him.
Herein lies the whole argument, and it is not theological but ordinary. No one forgets the one he loves, and no one needs to practice for that; but an abstract fullness must be held by effort, and that effort ends together with the concentration. A separate word is worth saying about the ornaments themselves. Among Vaiṣṇavas the image is adorned in earnest — with garlands, fabrics, gems — and this is done not for a diagram, but because one adorns the one who is dear. The objection to this custom is always the same: "God does not need this." It is true and settles nothing: the giver needs it.