Upanishads · Rudrākṣajābāla 1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
कस्मिंस्थितं तु किं नाम कथं वा धार्यते नरैः । कतिभेदमुखान्यत्र कैर्मन्त्रैर्धार्यते कथम्
Transliteration (IAST)
kasmiṃsthitaṃ tu kiṃ nāma kathaṃ vā dhāryate naraiḥ | katibhedamukhānyatra kairmantrairdhāryate katham
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कस्मिन् स्थितं तु किं नामkasmin sthitaṃ tu kiṃ nāmaon what it stands, what is its name
कथं वा धार्यते नरैःkathaṃ vā dhāryate naraiḥand how it is worn by people
कति भेद-मुखानि अत्रkati bheda-mukhāni atrahow many different mouths are there
कैः मन्त्रैः धार्यते कथम्kaiḥ mantraiḥ dhāryate kathamby what mantras and how it is worn
Translation
On what does it stand, what is its name, and how is it worn by people? How many different mouths are there, by what mantras and how is it worn?
Version
7ab9a08ddaa2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The question is repeated in verse and split into four: on what it stands, what it is called, how many kinds there are, with what words it is put on. This is, in essence, an inventory of every ritual question, and it is worth seeing plainly, for it lays bare the structure of ritual. What is asked about is the substance, the name, the varieties, and the words; and not a single question is asked about who wears it and what happens to him in doing so.
The absence of that question is the chief peculiarity of books of this kind. The rite is described as a thing with rules, not as a relationship; and the person is present in it only as the one who performs it. The Vaiṣṇava side answers this skew not by abolishing the rules but by shifting the emphasis. Its books of rules, the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa and others, are just as detailed; but over them stands a rule that changes the meaning of the whole inventory: "there is no restriction of time, no restriction of place" for the Name, and what decides is not correctness but the disposition of the heart.
Detail in itself is no fault. One who is truly engaged in something always knows the details of his craft; and a book that lists what thread to string beads on testifies, above all, that the matter was taken seriously.