Upanishads · Varāha 2.46
॥
Devanāgarī
मच्चिन्तनं मत्कथनमन्योन्यं मत्प्रभाषणम् । मदेकपरमो भूत्वा कालं नय महामते
Transliteration (IAST)
maccintanaṃ matkathanamanyonyaṃ matprabhāṣaṇam | madekaparamo bhūtvā kālaṃ naya mahāmate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मत्-चिन्तनं मत्-कथनम्mat-cintanaṃ mat-kathanamreflection on me, speech about me
अन्योन्यं मत्-प्रभाषणम्anyonyaṃ mat-prabhāṣaṇammutual discourse about me
मत्-एक-परमः भूत्वाmat-eka-paramaḥ bhūtvāhaving made me alone the highest
कालं नय महा-मतेkālaṃ naya mahā-matespend your time, O great in wisdom
Translation
"Reflection on me, speech about me, mutual discourse about me — having made me alone the highest, spend your time thus, O great in wisdom."
Version
80b9c9ec6d09 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a verse worth having read the whole chapter for, and it is a pure statement of what the Vaishnava side calls bhakti. Three activities are listed, and all three deserve examination. Mach-chintanam, "reflection on me": this is smarana, remembrance.
Mat-kathanam, "speech about me": this is kirtana, chanting. Anyonyam mat-prabhashanam, "mutual discourse about me": and this third is the most remarkable. It says anyonyam, "with one another"; that is, a conversation between two people about Him is prescribed.
This detail deserves attention, for it introduces into the matter company, entirely absent in the preceding verses — there, people were to be avoided like serpents (2.37). Let us compare to the Gita, which says almost the same, in almost the same words. Mach-chitta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam, kathayantash cha mam nityam tushyanti cha ramanti cha — "with mind on Me, with life given to Me, enlightening one another and always speaking of Me, they are content and rejoice" (10.9).
The correspondence is nearly word for word: both list three activities, and the third is mutual. Let us add what the Gita adds and the line here omits: tushyanti cha ramanti cha, "content and rejoicing." That is, this occupation is described not as an exercise, but as a delight; and this, in my view, is the chief sign that the path taken is correct.