Upanishads · Varāha 2.39
॥
Devanāgarī
उप समीपे यो वासो जीवात्मपरमात्मनोः । उपवासः स विज्ञेयो न तु कायस्य शोषणम्
Transliteration (IAST)
upa samīpe yo vāso jīvātmaparamātmanoḥ | upavāsaḥ sa vijñeyo na tu kāyasya śoṣaṇam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उप समीपे यः वासःupa samīpe yaḥ vāsaḥnear — what dwelling
जीव-आत्म-परम-आत्मनोःjīva-ātma-parama-ātmanoḥof the living self and the highest self
उपवासः सः विज्ञेयःupavāsaḥ saḥ vijñeyaḥthat is fasting, let it be known
न तु कायस्य शोषणम्na tu kāyasya śoṣaṇamand not the drying-out of the body
Translation
"Dwelling near — of the living self and the highest self — that is fasting, let it be known thus, and not the drying-out of the body."
Version
c9796f81b548 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is an excellent verse, and it deserves word-by-word examination, for it is a model of how interpretation explains rather than replaces. The word upavasa, "fasting," is broken into its parts: upa ("near") and vasa ("dwelling"). The analysis is correct by language: upa-vas does mean "to live near, to dwell close to."
And it is said: fasting is the living self's dwelling near the highest. Here lies what matters most, and why this verse is one of the finest in the whole book by the Vaishnava reading. It says jiva-atma-parama-atmanoh — the dual number, "of the two: the living self and the highest."
That is, the definition of fasting is built so that it requires two: one can only dwell near someone, not near oneself. Let us add what is denied: na tu kayasya shoshanam, "and not the drying-out of the body." We examined the drying-out of the body when reading the Jabala-darshana (2.3) and noted it is a measurable austerity and hence appealing.
Here it is directly denied; and denied not in favor of idleness, but in favor of nearness. The Vaishnava side holds this definition as its own and applies it to its own fasting custom: on ekadashi one abstains from grain not for exhaustion, but in order to free time and attention; discussed when reading the Ganapati (12.1).