Upanishads · Yājñavalkya p10
॥
Devanāgarī
मोक्षमन्त्रस्त्रय्येवं वेद तद्ब्रह्म तदुपासितव्यम्
Transliteration (IAST)
mokṣamantrastrayyevaṃ veda tadbrahma tadupāsitavyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मोक्ष-मन्त्रः त्रयीmokṣa-mantraḥ trayīthe mantra of liberation is the threefold [Veda]
एवं वेद तत् ब्रह्मevaṃ veda tat brahmawho thus knows that as brahman
तत् उपासितव्यम्tat upāsitavyamit is to be worshiped
Translation
The mantra of liberation is the threefold [Veda]; who thus knows that as brahman, it is to be worshiped.
Version
db65e1110f0f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mokṣa-mantra, "mantra of liberation," is named and identified with trayī, "the threefold Veda." It is worth examining what may be meant here, for the line is obscure. In codified books, "the mantra of liberation" usually means the praiṣa-mantra, "the mantra of declaration," uttered by one accepting renunciation; and it will be named a line further on.
Its identification with the threefold Veda apparently means that in it is compressed everything the three Vedas teach. Let us add what is worth saying about the very notion of "the mantra of liberation," for it is filled differently in different traditions. Here it is a declaration: a person says aloud that he has renounced, and thereby becomes renounced.
In Vaiṣṇava usage, the mantra of liberation is called tāraka, "the ferrying one," discussed when reading the Tārasāra; and it is a name, not a declaration. The distinction between a declaration and a name is worth voicing. A declaration is addressed to those present and to oneself: it informs them of a change of status.
A name is addressed to the one being called; and a response is expected from it. Hence the first acts once and is not repeated, while the second is repeated one's whole life; and in this can be seen how the two traditions differ in essence, not merely in ritual.