Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 6.40
॥
Devanāgarī
विनायकं च संस्मृत्य तथा वागीश्वरीं पुनः । लिङ्गनालात्समाकृष्य वायुमप्यग्रतो मुने
Transliteration (IAST)
vināyakaṃ ca saṃsmṛtya tathā vāgīśvarīṃ punaḥ | liṅganālātsamākṛṣya vāyumapyagrato mune
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विनायकं च संस्मृत्यvināyakaṃ ca saṃsmṛtyaand having remembered Vinayaka
तथा वागीश्वरीं पुनःtathā vāgīśvarīṃ punaḥand likewise Vagishvari again
लिङ्ग-नालात् समाकृष्यliṅga-nālāt samākṛṣyahaving drawn the wind from the stalk of the organ
वायुम् अपि अग्रतः मुनेvāyum api agrataḥ muneforward too, O sage
Translation
"…and having remembered Vinayaka, and likewise Vagishvari, — having drawn the wind from the stalk of the organ forward, O sage…"
Version
33eb137cacf8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Vinayaka (Ganesha) and Vagishvari ("mistress of speech," that is, Sarasvati) are named. The order of remembrance here is the usual one at the start of any undertaking: first Ganesha — the remover of obstacles, discussed when reading the Ganapati (10.1); then Sarasvati — the patroness of speech and learning. This order is observed in India to this day: a book is begun with a bow to Ganesha, learning with a bow to Sarasvati.
Worth noting is that even in a breathing technique the same order is kept as at the start of a book. That is, the practice is treated as an undertaking, requiring a blessing. This attitude toward a task — as something that must be begun properly and for which one must ask — is, in my view, the finest thing in Indian practice, and deserves being adopted.
Behind it stands a recognition useful to anyone: the beginning of an undertaking is not in my power. I can set out, but whether it succeeds depends on more than me alone; and hence, setting out, one asks. The Vaishnava side does this in the same order, only its names are different: it begins with mangala-acharana, "the auspicious opening," in which the teachers and the Lord are remembered.
Let us add what, for it, lies behind this. The opening is not superstition and not formality, but an acknowledgment of dependence; and a person who begins an undertaking without it is not wrong for breaking a custom, but for having imagined himself its sole participant.