Upanishads · Yājñavalkya p11
॥
Devanāgarī
शिखां यज्ञोपवीतं छित्त्वा संन्यस्तं मयेति त्रिवारमुच्चरेत् । एवमेवैतद्भगवन्निति वै याज्ञवल्क्यः
Transliteration (IAST)
śikhāṃ yajñopavītaṃ chittvā saṃnyastaṃ mayeti trivāramuccaret | evamevaitadbhagavanniti vai yājñavalkyaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शिखां यज्ञ-उपवीतं छित्त्वाśikhāṃ yajña-upavītaṃ chittvāhaving cut the tuft and the sacred thread
संन्यस्तं मया इतिsaṃnyastaṃ mayā iti"renounced by me"
त्रि-वारम् उच्चरेत्tri-vāram uccaretlet him utter three times
एवम् एव एतत् भगवन् इतिevam eva etat bhagavan iti"so it is indeed, Lord"
Translation
Having cut the tuft and the sacred thread, let him utter three times: "renounced by me." — "So it is indeed, Lord," [said Janaka] to Yājñavalkya.
Version
736ca68063f1 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The decisive act is described: they cut off śikhā, "the tuft on the crown," and yajñopavīta, "the sacred thread," and one says three times: saṃnyastaṃ mayā, "renounced by me." It is worth examining what is being cut, for both objects are signs of one thing. The thread is given at initiation and is the chief sign of belonging to the three highest castes; the tuft is a sign of the same. The thread was discussed when reading the Rudrākṣa-jābāla (1.17), where beads were worn in its place.
Here it is not replaced but cut off. That is, renunciation is described as an exit from caste, not just from the household: the renounced ceases to be a brahmin, kṣatriya, or vaiśya. This position is worth noting, for it is unexpected for those who consider Indian custom immovable.
Caste turns out here to be not an eternal property but a position from which there is an exit; and a person exits it by his own decision, declaring it aloud. The Vaiṣṇava side accepts this position and makes use of it. Her argument is this: if caste can be removed by scissors, it is not a person's essence; and if it is not the essence, it does not determine the right to the highest either.
Let us add what she does differently in this. Her initiates do not cut the thread and do not shave the tuft; they add signs — beads, tilaka, a name. That is, for her the change is described not as an exit but as an entry; and the distinction between "ceased to be that" and "became this" is, to my mind, the distinction of two dispositions, not two rites.