Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 1.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं ब्रह्मचर्यं दयार्जवम् । क्षमा धृतिर्मिताहारः शौचं चैव यमा दश
Transliteration (IAST)
ahiṃsā satyamasteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ dayārjavam | kṣamā dhṛtirmitāhāraḥ śaucaṃ caiva yamā daśa
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहिंसा सत्यम् अस्तेयंahiṃsā satyam asteyaṃnon-harming, truth, not taking what is another's
ब्रह्मचर्यं दया आर्जवम्brahmacaryaṃ dayā ārjavamcelibacy, mercy, uprightness
क्षमा धृतिः मित-आहारःkṣamā dhṛtiḥ mita-āhāraḥpatience, steadfastness, moderate eating
शौचं च एव यमाः दशśaucaṃ ca eva yamāḥ daśaand purity — the ten restraints
Translation
"Non-harming, truth, not taking what is another's, celibacy, mercy, uprightness, patience, steadfastness, moderate eating, and purity — the ten restraints."
Version
a4ca0c2b21e0 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Ten yamas, and it is worth noting that in Patanjali there are five (Yoga-sutras 2.30): non-harming, truthfulness, not taking what is another's, celibacy, non-acquisitiveness. Five new ones have been added here. The additions are: daya ("mercy"), arjava ("uprightness"), kshama ("patience under offense"), dhriti ("steadfastness"), and mitahara ("moderation in eating").
Let us note how the additions differ from the original five, for the difference is interesting. Patanjali's five are prohibitions: do not kill, do not lie, do not take, do not fornicate, do not hoard. The additions are traits of temperament: be merciful, upright, patient, steadfast, moderate.
This addition is, in my view, an improvement. Prohibitions can all be kept while a person remains dry and bitter; but the qualities listed here are not covered by prohibitions at all. The Vaishnava side insists on precisely this and has its own famous list, where moral qualities are named marks, not conditions. The Bhagavatam lists twenty-six qualities of a devotee and places first: kripalu ("merciful"), akrita-droha ("harming no one"), titikshu ("patient"), satya-sara ("whose core is truth") (3.25.21 and Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 22.78–80).
The distinction between "condition" and "mark" deserves stating, because on it hangs the whole structure of a life. A condition is fulfilled in order to obtain something; a mark appears of itself in one who has already obtained it. This does not cancel the order: one must work on oneself, and the first rung stands first for good reason. But to expect it to be completed to the end before beginning is never to begin at all; and hence the Vaishnava practice bids one begin with hearing and chanting, leaving the temperament to be set right along the way.