Upanishads · Yājñavalkya p23
॥
Devanāgarī
आशाम्बरो न नमस्कारो न दारपुत्राभिलाषी लक्ष्यालक्ष्यनिर्वर्तकः परिव्राट् परमेश्वरो भवति । अत्रैते श्लोका भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
āśāmbaro na namaskāro na dāraputrābhilāṣī lakṣyālakṣyanirvartakaḥ parivrāṭ parameśvaro bhavati | atraite ślokā bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आशा-अम्बरः न नमस्कारःāśā-ambaraḥ na namaskāraḥclothed in the directions, without prostration
न दार-पुत्र-अभिलाषीna dāra-putra-abhilāṣīnot desiring wife and sons
लक्ष्य-अ-लक्ष्य-निर्वर्तकःlakṣya-a-lakṣya-nirvartakaḥhaving ceased from the visible and the invisible
परिव्राट् परम-ईश्वरः भवतिparivrāṭ parama-īśvaraḥ bhavatithe wanderer becomes the supreme lord
Translation
Clothed in the directions, without prostration, not desiring wife and sons, having ceased from the visible and the invisible — the wanderer becomes the supreme lord. On this, verses follow.
Version
797d674abb0d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is worth noting the phrase āśā-ambara, "clothed in the directions" — that is, naked. This phrase is beautiful and well known in Sanskrit: space itself serves him as clothing. Hence the name of the whole Jain sect Digambara, "clothed in the directions."
Let us add a word standing here that is unexpected: na namaskāraḥ, "without prostration." That is, the paramahaṃsa does not bow. This position stands in the codes of the renounced and is explained by the fact that one who bows acknowledges an elder above himself; and the paramahaṃsa, by this reckoning, is beyond all ranks.
Let us say plainly that the Vaiṣṇava side did not accept this rule, and accepted the opposite; and the distinction is worth voicing, for it is one of the chief ones. Her rule is stated by Caitanya in a verse cited more than once: amāninā māna-dena, "not seeking honor for oneself, but according honor to others" (Śikṣāṣṭaka 3). That is, the highest sign is named as bowing, not ceasing to bow.
Let us add the argument she brings, which, to my mind, is decisive. One who has stopped bowing because he is above everyone is in the most dangerous position of all: he has no one who can correct him. The last words of the line — parameśvaro bhavati, "becomes the supreme lord" — are the identification usual for these books, and how to read it was discussed when reading the Tārasāra (1.11): what is attained is a place, not an essence.