Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.44
॥
Devanāgarī
तदाद्यं विषुवं प्रोक्तं तपसैस्तापतोत्तम । प्राणसंज्ञो मुनिश्रेष्ठ मूर्धानं प्राविशद्यदा
Transliteration (IAST)
tadādyaṃ viṣuvaṃ proktaṃ tapasaistāpatottama | prāṇasaṃjño muniśreṣṭha mūrdhānaṃ prāviśadyadā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तदा आद्यं विषुवं प्रोक्तंtadā ādyaṃ viṣuvaṃ proktaṃthat is then called the first equinox
तपसैः तापत-उत्तमtapasaiḥ tāpata-uttamaby ascetics, O best of ascetics
प्राण-संज्ञः मुनि-श्रेष्ठprāṇa-saṃjñaḥ muni-śreṣṭhanamed prana, O best of sages
मूर्धानं प्राविशत् यदाmūrdhānaṃ prāviśat yadāwhen it entered the crown
Translation
"That is then called by ascetics, O best of ascetics, the first equinox. And when the one named prana entered the crown…"
Version
354885d5071d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Vishuva is the equinox — the day when light and dark are equal. The inward equinox is named the entry of breath into the base of the spine; the final one will be the entry into the crown. Worth noting is that here too the image chosen is one of equality, not preponderance. Not the victory of light over darkness, but their equality.
This thought runs through all Indian books, and deserves stating directly, for it diverges from the image, familiar to us, of the spiritual life as a battle of light against darkness. Here the goal is described not as the destruction of one side, but as an evening-out; and the word sama, "even," is one of the chief ones in these books. The Gita uses it constantly: samatvam yoga uchyate, "evenness is called yoga" (2.48); "even to friend and to foe, to honor and dishonor, to cold and heat" (12.18); "even toward all beings" (18.54).
Worth noting, however, is that in the Gita evenness is not the end. Verse 18.54, where all these evennesses are listed, ends with the words: mad-bhaktim labhate param, "obtains the highest devotion to Me." The order, then, is this: evenness is a threshold, and beyond it begins what is no longer even, for devotion is preference.
This distinction deserves holding onto, because it is often blurred. To be even toward everything and love nothing is a possible state, and in some teachings it is called the goal. To be even toward everything and love one is a different state, and it is exactly to this that the Gita leads.