Upanishads · Tārasāra 2.6
॥
Devanāgarī
तारकत्त्वात्तारको भवति । तदेव तारकं ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि । तदेवोपासितव्यम् अत्रैते श्लोका भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
tārakattvāttārako bhavati | tadeva tārakaṃ brahma tvaṃ viddhi | tadevopāsitavyam atraite ślokā bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तारकत्त्वात् तारकः भवतिtārakattvāt tārakaḥ bhavatiby its ferrying-ness it becomes the ferrying [mantra]
तत् एव तारकं ब्रह्मtat eva tārakaṃ brahmathat indeed is the ferrying brahman
त्वं विद्धि तत् एव उपासितव्यम्tvaṃ viddhi tat eva upāsitavyamknow this; it alone should be revered
अत्र एते श्लोकाः भवन्तिatra ete ślokāḥ bhavantion this, here are verses
Translation
«By its ferrying-ness it becomes the ferrying [mantra]; that indeed is the ferrying brahman — know this; it alone should be revered. On this, here are verses».
Version
7347eaebe0ba · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The word tāraka is explained through itself: tārakattvāt tārako bhavati, "by ferrying-ness it becomes the ferrying [thing]." This definition is tautological, and this must be said plainly, rather than pretending there is depth here. Such definitions occur often in Sanskrit books and usually serve not explanation but the fixing of a word: the root is repeated so the listener will remember the connection.
It is more useful to examine the root, which the book does not do. Tṛ means "to cross over"; from it come tīrtha ("ford, holy place"), taraṅga ("wave," literally "going across"), avatāra ("descent," literally "a crossing-down"). This family of words deserves keeping in mind, because it explains the whole Vaiṣṇava vocabulary about salvation. The world is a river; salvation is a crossing; a holy place is a ford; and the Lord's descent is His own crossing to here.
The image of the river and the crossing, on reflection, contains a whole teaching, and one that does not fit the non-dual reading. One does not cross over what does not exist — this was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (10.7). And, more important: crossing presupposes two banks, and one who has crossed is not where he was.
Hence the word tāraka itself, standing in the title of this book, is already testimony in favor of the reading on which the world is real, and attainment is a change of place, not the discovery that there was no place at all.