Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.80
॥
Devanāgarī
मृषैवोदेति सकलं मृषैव प्रविलीयते । रौप्यबुद्धिः शुक्तिकायां स्त्रीपुंसोर्भ्रमतो यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
mṛṣaivodeti sakalaṃ mṛṣaiva pravilīyate | raupyabuddhiḥ śuktikāyāṃ strīpuṃsorbhramato yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मृषा एव उदेति सकलंmṛṣā eva udeti sakalaṃfalsely alone does everything arise
मृषा एव प्रविलीयतेmṛṣā eva pravilīyatefalsely alone does it dissolve
रौप्य-बुद्धिः शुक्तिकायांraupya-buddhiḥ śuktikāyāṃthe notion of silver in mother-of-pearl
स्त्री-पुंसोः भ्रमतः यथाstrī-puṃsoḥ bhramataḥ yathāas of man and woman, from delusion
Translation
"Falsely alone does all arise, falsely alone does it dissolve — like the notion of silver in mother-of-pearl, like [mistaking] man for woman, from delusion".
Version
49a37e120912 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A second famous Advaita simile is given: raupya-buddhih shuktikayam, "the notion of silver in mother-of-pearl." A shell is taken from a distance for silver; there is no silver, the shell is there. The objections to it are the same as to the rope and the serpent, and were given when reading Katharudra (13). Let one more be added here, pertaining to this simile.
Mother-of-pearl shines. One is mistaken not about just any object, but about one with a genuine resemblance to what is sought; and this resemblance is not illusory — it is a property of the shell itself. That is, the simile, brought forth to declare the world false, itself requires that in the world there be something genuinely shining; otherwise there would be nothing to be mistaken about.
The Vaishnava reading draws its own conclusion from this, and it is simple. The world is not God — there is no dispute here; but its shine is not invented: it is a reflection, and so it is natural to be mistaken about it. The Bhagavatam says the beauty of the world is a particle of His beauty (11.12.20 and many others); and so attraction to the world is not a pure error, but attraction misdirected.
The difference between "you were mistaken, there is nothing there" and "you were mistaken, the original is elsewhere" is the whole difference between the two teachings. The first commands one to stop wanting; the second — to go where the real silver is.