Upanishads · Gaṇapati 11.1
॥
Devanāgarī
एतदथर्वशीर्षं योऽधीते । स ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते । स सर्वविघ्नैर्न बाध्यते । स सर्वतः सुखमेधते । स पञ्चमहापापात् प्रमुच्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
etadatharvaśīrṣaṃ yo'dhīte | sa brahmabhūyāya kalpate | sa sarvavighnairna bādhyate | sa sarvataḥ sukhamedhate | sa pañcamahāpāpāt pramucyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतत् अथर्व-शीर्षं यः अधीतेetat atharva-śīrṣaṃ yaḥ adhītewhoever studies this atharva-chapter
सः ब्रह्म-भूयाय कल्पतेsaḥ brahma-bhūyāya kalpatebecomes fit for brahman-becoming
सः सर्व-विघ्नैः न बाध्यतेsaḥ sarva-vighnaiḥ na bādhyatehe is not hindered by any obstacle
सः सर्वतः सुखम् एधतेsaḥ sarvataḥ sukham edhatehe prospers in happiness in every way
सः पञ्च-महा-पापात् प्रमुच्यतेsaḥ pañca-mahā-pāpāt pramucyatehe is freed from the five great sins
Translation
Whoever studies this atharva-chapter becomes fit for brahman-becoming; he is not hindered by any obstacle, he prospers in happiness in every way, he is freed from the five great sins.
Version
150e37f0681f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The phala-śruti, "hearing of the fruit," begins — the closing section in which every upaniṣad lists what awaits the reader. Every upaniṣad has such a section, and all are built alike. It is worth examining the first promise, for it is more precise than the rest: brahma-bhūyāya kalpate, "becomes fit for brahman-becoming."
The verb kalpate means "becomes fit, suited, capable." Not "becomes brahman," but fit to become it. This distinction is not our own reading-in: the same word stands in the Gītā, where it is said brahma-bhūyāya kalpate of one who has transcended the guṇas (14.26), and there, three verses later, it is explained by what this is attained: māṃ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate, "who serves Me with unswerving devotion."
That is, in the Gītā brahma-bhūyāya is not the end but a threshold; and after it comes talk of service, not of merging. The Vaiṣṇava side stands especially firmly on this verse, and it is worth saying why. It shows that "becoming brahman" and "serving" do not exclude each other, and that the second comes after the first, not before it. Liberation turns out not to be the end of the path but the place where the path begins.
The remaining promises — not to be pressed by obstacles, to grow in happiness, to be freed from the five great sins — are the usual ones for this section, and the measure of such promises has already been discussed more than once. Let me recall only this: the removal of guilt is not the cancellation of what was done, and these promises are spoken to one who repents, not to one intending [to sin].