Upanishads · Varāha 2.3
॥
Devanāgarī
नित्यानित्यविवेकश्च इहामुत्र विरागता । शमादिषट्कसम्पत्तिर्मुमुक्षा तां समभ्यसेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
nityānityavivekaśca ihāmutra virāgatā | śamādiṣaṭkasampattirmumukṣā tāṃ samabhyaset
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नित्य-अनित्य-विवेकः चnitya-anitya-vivekaḥ caand discernment of the eternal and non-eternal
इह अमुत्र विरागताiha amutra virāgatādispassion toward here and toward there
शम-आदि-षट्क-सम्पत्तिःśama-ādi-ṣaṭka-sampattiḥpossession of the sixfold, beginning with calm
मुमुक्षा तां समभ्यसेत्mumukṣā tāṃ samabhyasetthe longing for freedom — let him practice it
Translation
"Discernment of the eternal and non-eternal, dispassion toward here and toward there, possession of the sixfold beginning with calm, and the longing for freedom — let him practice it."
Version
559f52e8a29c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The sadhana-chatushtaya, "the quaternity of means," is named — the famous list of Vedanta, and all four deserve examination. Nitya-anitya-viveka, "discernment of the eternal and non-eternal": the capacity to distinguish what will remain from what will end. Iha-amutra-viragata, "dispassion toward here and toward there": not chasing after either the earthly or the heavenly. Worth noting is the second: heaven too is rejected, discussed when reading the Rudraksha-jabala (1.5).
Shama-adi-shatka, "the sixfold, beginning with calm": shama (calm of mind), dama (control of the senses), uparati (withdrawal from affairs), titiksha (patience), shraddha (faith), samadhana (concentration). Mumuksha, "the longing for freedom." Worth noting is that this last is named last, not first; and this order is, in my view, correct: the longing for freedom appears in one who has already discerned and already cooled.
The Vaishnava side knows this quaternity and does not reject it; but observes that it is a list of entrance conditions, and that under such conditions few will enter. Hence its own order begins differently — with shraddha, "faith," and sadhu-sanga, "company"; and everything else in its ladder appears afterward, not before. The ground given is this: discernment and dispassion are fruits, not tools; to demand them at the entrance is to demand the harvest before the sowing.