Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 7.3
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रत्याहारो भवेदेष ब्रह्मविद्भिः पुरोदितः । यद्यच्छुद्धमशुद्धं वा करोत्यामरणान्तिकम्
Transliteration (IAST)
pratyāhāro bhavedeṣa brahmavidbhiḥ puroditaḥ | yadyacchuddhamaśuddhaṃ vā karotyāmaraṇāntikam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रत्याहारः भवेत् एषःpratyāhāraḥ bhavet eṣaḥlet this be withdrawal
ब्रह्म-विद्भिः पुरः-उदितःbrahma-vidbhiḥ puraḥ-uditaḥpreviously stated by knowers of brahman
यत् यत् शुद्धम् अ-शुद्धं वाyat yat śuddham a-śuddhaṃ vāwhatever, pure or impure
करोति आ-मरण-अन्तिकम्karoti ā-maraṇa-antikamone does, right up to death
Translation
"Let this be withdrawal, previously stated by knowers of brahman: whatever one does — pure or impure — right up to death itself…"
Version
c42bc70fb095 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A third definition of withdrawal of the senses begins, and it will prove the most unexpected: to bring everything one does to brahman. Worth noting is the phrase shuddham ashuddham va, "pure or impure." That is, it is not said "bring everything good"; it is said — everything you do, including the bad.
This phrase is sharp and requires examination, for it can be understood two ways, and one understanding is dangerous. The dangerous understanding is this: since everything is offered, it makes no difference what one does. This understanding has appeared in history more than once, always ending badly; and it was discussed when reading the Tripura and the Bhavana.
The correct understanding, in my view, is different. The discourse is not about permission, but about honesty of offering: offer also what you are ashamed of, not only what is presentable. The Vaishnava side states the same, in almost the same words, and its verse is worth citing, for it is built so as not to admit a bad understanding.
The Gita: yat karoshi yad ashnasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat, yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushva mad-arpanam — "whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give, whatever austerity you perform, O son of Kunti, do it as an offering to Me" (9.27). The list there is composed of ordinary and good acts: eating, sacrificing, giving, practicing austerity. There is nothing bad in it.
The difference from the line here is subtle but matters. Here it says "all, pure and impure"; there — "all that you do," with a list of worthy acts. The first can be read as permission; the second cannot.