Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.34
॥
Devanāgarī
अङ्गुष्ठाभ्यां मुने श्रोत्रे तर्जनीभ्यां तु चक्षुषी । नासापुटवधानाभ्यां प्रच्छाद्य करणानि वै
Transliteration (IAST)
aṅguṣṭhābhyāṃ mune śrotre tarjanībhyāṃ tu cakṣuṣī | nāsāpuṭavadhānābhyāṃ pracchādya karaṇāni vai
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अङ्गुष्ठाभ्यां मुने श्रोत्रेaṅguṣṭhābhyāṃ mune śrotrewith the thumbs, O sage, the ears
तर्जनीभ्यां तु चक्षुषीtarjanībhyāṃ tu cakṣuṣīwith the index fingers, however, the eyes
नासा-पुटौ अधानाभ्यांnāsā-puṭau adhānābhyāṃthe nostrils, with the middle [fingers]
प्रच्छाद्य करणानि वैpracchādya karaṇāni vaihaving closed the organs indeed
Translation
"With the thumbs, O sage, the ears; with the index fingers, however, the eyes; the nostrils, with the middle [fingers]; having closed the organs indeed…"
Version
a468192ef0a2 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The technique is laid out finger by finger: thumbs — ears, index fingers — eyes, middle fingers — nostrils. This detail is telling and deserves noting: the description has become precise down to the finger. Let us compare this to how the postures were described in the same book: there it is said "place the foot on the thigh" and nothing more, so that one cannot sit by the description alone (3.4).
Here, however, the description is complete, and one can perform it by it. The difference is explained, apparently, by the fact that the postures were shown, while this technique was communicated; and what is shown is described briefly, while what is communicated, in detail. This observation is useful when reading any ancient instructions. By the degree of detail in a description, one can judge what was passed hand to hand, and what by word alone.
The Vaishnava side has almost no details in the transmission of its chief means, and it is worth saying why. The Name is uttered as any word is uttered; there is nothing here to show and nothing to lay out finger by finger. All it has by way of techniques comes down to a few simple rules: listen to yourself, do not be distracted, do not count in haste. Hence its instruction takes up not chapters, but lines; and all the rest of the space is given to the One of whom it speaks.