Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.61
॥
Devanāgarī
तत्र ऋषयः शाम्भवाः पाशुपता महाशैवा वेदावतंसं शैवं पञ्चाक्षरं जपन्तस्तारकं सप्रणवं मोदमानास्तिष्ठन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
tatra ṛṣayaḥ śāmbhavāḥ pāśupatā mahāśaivā vedāvataṃsaṃ śaivaṃ pañcākṣaraṃ japantastārakaṃ sapraṇavaṃ modamānāstiṣṭhanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्र ऋषयः शाम्भवाः पाशुपताःtatra ṛṣayaḥ śāmbhavāḥ pāśupatāḥthere, sages — śāmbhavas, pāśupatas
महा-शैवाः वेद-अवतंसंmahā-śaivāḥ veda-avataṃsaṃmahā-śaivas, the crown of the Veda
शैवं पञ्च-अक्षरं जपन्तःśaivaṃ pañca-akṣaraṃ japantaḥrepeating the śaiva five-syllable mantra
तारकं स-प्रणवम्tārakaṃ sa-praṇavamthe crossing one, with the praṇava
मोदमानाः तिष्ठन्तिmodamānāḥ tiṣṭhantirejoicing, they abide
Translation
«There, sages — śāmbhavas, pāśupatas, mahā-śaivas — repeating the crown of the Veda, the śaiva five-syllable mantra, the crossing one, with the praṇava — abide, rejoicing».
Version
d37867083e83 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Three branches are named — śāmbhavas, pāśupatas, mahā-śaivas — and this is a rare instance of the book itself listing the branches of its own tradition, without merging them into one. The last word here deserves attention: modamānāḥ tiṣṭhanti, «they abide, rejoicing». The participle modamāna — from mud, «to rejoice» — is the same word that occurred in Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (1.86), where it was said one «rejoices together with Śiva».
Worth noting what they do at the place of liberation. They do not dissolve, do not vanish, do not fall silent — they repeat the mantra and rejoice; that is, they have an occupation and a state, and so there is one who is occupied and to whom it is joyful. The Vaishnava side builds its objection to merger as the final goal on exactly this, and its argument is simple to the point of bluntness. Joy is someone's experience; the dissolved has nothing to rejoice with and no one to be joyful, for joy belongs to no one.
Hence, every time a book about merging reaches the description of those who have attained it, it involuntarily gives back what it had taken away: a place, an occupation, company, and joy. Here this is seen with full clarity — the sages sit and repeat, and this is no longer dissolution, but life.