Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.7
॥
Devanāgarī
पुनः पिङ्गलयापूर्य मात्रैः षोडशभिस्तथा । अकारमूर्तिमत्रापि स्मरेदेकाग्रमानसः
Transliteration (IAST)
punaḥ piṅgalayāpūrya mātraiḥ ṣoḍaśabhistathā | akāramūrtimatrāpi smaredekāgramānasaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पुनः पिङ्गलया आपूर्यpunaḥ piṅgalayā āpūryaagain, having filled by pingala
मात्रैः षोडशभिः तथाmātraiḥ ṣoḍaśabhiḥ tathāby sixteen measures likewise
अ-कार-मूर्तिम् अत्र अपिa-kāra-mūrtim atra apiand here too, the form of the sound 'a'
स्मरेत् एक-अग्र-मानसःsmaret eka-agra-mānasaḥlet him hold in mind, with mind directed to a single point
Translation
"Again, having filled by pingala, by sixteen measures likewise, — and here too let him hold in mind the form of the sound 'a', with mind directed to a single point."
Version
e45b107081c2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The circle repeats in reverse, and this composes the full exercise. Worth noting is the phrase eka-agra-manasah, "with mind directed to a single point," discussed when reading the third khanda (3.10). Here it stands beside the most detailed count: sixteen, sixty-four, thirty-two measures — and single-pointedness is required alongside it.
Here it is worth mentioning a difficulty every practitioner meets at once, and which these books pass over in silence. To count and to be concentrated are things that interfere with each other. One who counts to sixty-four is occupied with counting; and counting is an occupation as distracting as any other.
The way out found in these schools is well known: the count fuses with the breath and ceases to demand attention, as steps cease to demand attention while walking. But until then, a person is counting, and this can go on for a long time. The Vaishnava side sidesteps this difficulty by the very arrangement of its own means, and it is worth saying how. In it, one counts with beads, that is, with the hand; and the mind is occupied not with the count, but with the Name.
This arrangement hands the count over to the body and frees the mind; and in this, in my view, lies its chief convenience. The hand tells its own beads, as a walker's feet move of themselves; and an hour later a person does not remember how far he walked, but remembers what he was thinking of.