Upanishads · Varāha 2.43
॥
Devanāgarī
अहं ब्रह्मेति नियतं मोक्षहेतुर्महात्मनाम् । द्वे पदे बन्धमोक्षाय निर्ममेति ममेति च
Transliteration (IAST)
ahaṃ brahmeti niyataṃ mokṣaheturmahātmanām | dve pade bandhamokṣāya nirmameti mameti ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहं ब्रह्म इति नियतंahaṃ brahma iti niyataṃ'I am brahman' — constantly
मोक्ष-हेतुः महा-आत्मनाम्mokṣa-hetuḥ mahā-ātmanāmis the cause of liberation for great souls
द्वे पदे बन्ध-मोक्षायdve pade bandha-mokṣāyatwo words lead to bondage and to liberation
निर्मम इति मम इति चnirmama iti mama iti ca'not mine' and 'mine'
Translation
"'I am brahman,' constantly, is the cause of liberation for great souls. Two words [lead] to bondage and to liberation: 'not mine' and 'mine.'"
Version
0aadaef9e33c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second half of the verse is, in my view, the finest passage in this whole chapter, and deserves examination: dve pade bandha-mokshaya, nirmama iti mameti cha. "Two words [lead] to bondage and to liberation: 'mine' and 'not mine.'" That is, all captivity and all freedom are reduced to two words, and the most ordinary ones at that.
Worth appraising is this brevity. The book has listed ninety-six principles, examined three states and four means; and suddenly it says the matter turns on a single possessive pronoun. The Vaishnava side holds this position and states it in the same way. Its word mamata, "mine-ness," discussed when reading verse four, is one of the two knots of bondage; and it is undone not by reasoning, but by handing-over.
Let us add what it specifies here, and which constitutes the whole difference. "Not mine" can be said two ways: "belonging to no one" and "Yours." The first is a renunciation, and it leaves the thing without an owner, and the person without a relation.
The second is a handing-over, and it leaves the thing with an owner, and the person in service. Its usual formula of surrender is arranged exactly this way: tava eva, "Yours"; and of the word namah, glossed as na mama, "not mine," discussed when reading the Tarasara (1.7). Joining both interpretations, we get an arrangement worth holding onto: a bow is the uttering of "not mine"; and to whom it is addressed determines whether it is a renunciation or a handing-over.