Upanishads · Rudrākṣajābāla 1.20
॥
Devanāgarī
त्रिशतं त्वधमं पञ्चशतं मध्यममुच्यते । सहस्रमुत्तमं प्रोक्तमेवं भेदेन धारयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
triśataṃ tvadhamaṃ pañcaśataṃ madhyamamucyate | sahasramuttamaṃ proktamevaṃ bhedena dhārayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्रि-शतं तु अधमंtri-śataṃ tu adhamaṃbut three hundred is the lowest
पञ्च-शतं मध्यमम् उच्यतेpañca-śataṃ madhyamam ucyatefive hundred is called middling
सहस्रम् उत्तमं प्रोक्तम्sahasram uttamaṃ proktama thousand is declared the best
एवं भेदेन धारयेत्evaṃ bhedena dhārayetso, by this distinction, let him wear
Translation
Three hundred is the lowest, five hundred is called middling, a thousand is declared the best; so, by this distinction, let him wear.
Version
85eee79465eb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The count has run to a thousand, and the whole measure is reduced to quantity: three hundred is poor, five hundred passable, a thousand good. This was already discussed when reading the fifteenth line, and there is no need to repeat it. It is worth naming, however, the very structure of such a measure, for it occurs far beyond this book.
This measure is linear: it has one axis, and everything better lies in one direction. More seeds, more repetitions, more fasts, more hours — and it is never worse for having more. Its convenience is obvious: it requires no discernment. There is no need to ask how it was done — it is enough to ask how much.
The Vaiṣṇava side sets against the linear measure a qualitative one, and states it in its most famous verse on repeating the Name: tṛṇād api sunīcena, "humbler than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, seeking no honor for oneself but giving honor to others — such should be the one who ceaselessly repeats the Name" (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3). What is named here is not a number but a disposition; and this measure is inconvenient precisely for what makes it good: it cannot be exhibited. How much you have repeated can be counted and shown; whether you are humbler than a blade of grass cannot be shown to anyone, including yourself.
Hence linear measures are tenacious, and qualitative ones always remain a minority. The first give a reckoning; the second only give work.