Upanishads · Yājñavalkya p20
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणसन्धारणार्थं यथोक्तकाले विमुक्तो भैक्षमाचरन्नुदरपात्रेण लाभालाभौ समौ भूत्वा करपात्रेण वा
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇasandhāraṇārthaṃ yathoktakāle vimukto bhaikṣamācarannudarapātreṇa lābhālābhau samau bhūtvā karapātreṇa vā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राण-सन्धारण-अर्थंprāṇa-sandhāraṇa-arthaṃfor the sake of sustaining breath
यथा-उक्त-काले विमुक्तःyathā-ukta-kāle vimuktaḥat the appointed time, freed
भैक्षम् आचरन् उदर-पात्रेणbhaikṣam ācaran udara-pātreṇagathering alms with the belly as vessel
लाभ-अलाभौ समौ भूत्वाlābha-alābhau samau bhūtvāhaving become equal to gain and non-gain
Translation
For the sake of sustaining breath, at the appointed time, freed, gathering alms with the belly as vessel, having become equal to gain and non-gain — or else with the palm as vessel …
Version
965744b878cc · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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It is worth noting the phrase prāṇa-sandhāraṇa-artham, "for the sake of sustaining breath." That is, the purpose of eating is named directly and with extreme frugality: not to be sated, not to be nourished, but not to let breath cease. This definition is worth comparing with what we read in the Jābāla-darśana (1.19), where it was prescribed to eat little and tasty food and leave a quarter of the stomach empty.
There the measure was set for a purpose: to be fit for work. Here it is for existence: not to die. The difference is great, and it is the difference of two ways of life: active and withdrawn.
Let us add the phrase udara-pātreṇa, "with the belly as vessel": there is no dish, and whatever is given is eaten at once. Behind this stands a rule chief among the codes of the renounced: do not stockpile. A dish is an instrument of stockpiling; its absence makes stockpiling impossible.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds this rule and voices it in the list of hindrances discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (5.9): saṃcaya, "accumulation," is counted there among the six things that ruin the endeavor (Upadeśāmṛta 2). Let us add the qualification she makes, which removes the extreme. Accumulation is forbidden for oneself; accumulation for service — for a temple, a community, distribution — is not only permitted but enjoined. And the distinction between a storeroom and a granary lies here not in size, but in whom it is for.