Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 2.10
॥
Devanāgarī
वेदलौकिकमार्गेषु कुत्सितं कर्म यद्भवेत् । तस्मिन्भवति या लज्जा ह्रीः सैवेति प्रकीर्तिता । वैदिकेषु च सर्वेषु श्रद्धा या सा मतिर्भवेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
vedalaukikamārgeṣu kutsitaṃ karma yadbhavet | tasminbhavati yā lajjā hrīḥ saiveti prakīrtitā | vaidikeṣu ca sarveṣu śraddhā yā sā matirbhavet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वेद-लौकिक-मार्गेषुveda-laukika-mārgeṣuon the paths, Vedic and worldly
कुत्सितं कर्म यत् भवेत्kutsitaṃ karma yat bhavetwhat act would be reprehensible
तस्मिन् भवति या लज्जाtasmin bhavati yā lajjāwhat shame there is at it
ह्रीः सा एव इति प्रकीर्तिताhrīḥ sā eva iti prakīrtitāthat indeed is proclaimed as shame
वैदिकेषु श्रद्धा या सा मतिःvaidikeṣu śraddhā yā sā matiḥfaith in what is Vedic — that is understanding
Translation
"The shame that occurs at a reprehensible act — on the Vedic paths or the worldly — that indeed is proclaimed as shame. Faith in all that is Vedic is understanding."
Version
801a18710137 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Hri, "shame," is placed among the observances, and this is, in my view, the most curious item in the whole list. An observance is ordinarily something one does. Shame, however, is not done — it happens; and to demand shame of a person is as impossible as to demand a blush.
So something else is meant here, and it is worth understanding what. What is named an observance is, apparently, not the capacity to feel shame itself, but its preservation: not stifling in oneself what causes shame. This capacity, like every sensitivity, is dulled by use in the opposite direction. A person who has done wrong without flinching will not flinch more easily the second time; and after a while there is simply nothing left in him to stir.
Hence the preservation of shame is an active pursuit and fully deserves the name of an observance. Worth noting too is that shame is referred to two paths at once: veda-laukika, "the Vedic and the worldly." That is, one should feel shame not only at the violation of a rule, but at what is reprehensible by the ordinary human reckoning.
This extension matters and does not always appear. Codified piety has a way of substituting a list for conscience: what is not on the list is not shameful. Here this substitution is directly foreclosed.
The Vaishnava side counts shame among the marks of a devotee — the Bhagavatam names it hri among the qualities that appear of themselves (11.11.29 and following) — and ranks it alongside gentleness and freedom from malice. It adds too a caution worth knowing. Shame is of two kinds: before people, and before oneself. The first is fear of disgrace and coexists easily with hidden bad conduct; the second fears nothing, and is therefore more reliable.