Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.2
॥
Devanāgarī
कः पूजनीयः । को वा ध्येयः । कः स्मर्तव्यः । कथं ध्येयः । क्व स्थातव्यमेतद्ब्रूहीति । समासेन
Transliteration (IAST)
kaḥ pūjanīyaḥ | ko vā dhyeyaḥ | kaḥ smartavyaḥ | kathaṃ dhyeyaḥ | kva sthātavyametadbrūhīti | samāsena
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कः पूजनीयःkaḥ pūjanīyaḥwho is to be worshipped?
कः वा ध्येयःkaḥ vā dhyeyaḥor who is to be meditated upon?
कः स्मर्तव्यः कथं ध्येयःkaḥ smartavyaḥ kathaṃ dhyeyaḥwho is to be remembered? how meditated upon?
क्व स्थातव्यम् एतत् ब्रूहिkva sthātavyam etat brūhiwhere should one abide — tell this
Translation
«Who is to be worshipped? who is to be meditated upon? who is to be remembered? how meditated upon? where should one abide? — tell this», briefly.
Version
f14348b063de · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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There are five questions, and their order deserves unpacking, for it is instructive. First who: worshipped, meditated upon, remembered. Then how: in what manner meditated upon. And finally where: in what place to abide.
This order is correct and applies far beyond this book. First one learns to whom one turns; then — how; and only then — where. The reverse order, incidentally, is a common mistake. People start with place — where to go, where to move, where to settle — and suppose everything depends on the place. But place is the last of the three and the least important; and anyone who has changed places knows he carries himself along with him.
Worth noting too the first set of three words: pūjanīya, «worshipped»; dhyeya, «meditated upon»; smartavya, «remembered». These three are three ways of relating to a person: to serve him, to think of him, and to remember him. And the third, to my mind, matters more than the first two, for it endures: one worships during the hours of service, one meditates during the hours of concentration, but one remembers always.
The Vaishnava side stands on remembrance; and its well-known rule, cited when reading Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (3.33), states: to remember constantly and never forget, with all other rules subordinate to this one.