Upanishads · Varāha 2.58
॥
Devanāgarī
उत्तमाधमभावश्चेत्तेषां स्यादस्ति तेन किम् । स्वप्नस्थराज्यभिक्षाभ्यां प्रबुद्धः स्पृशते खलु
Transliteration (IAST)
uttamādhamabhāvaścetteṣāṃ syādasti tena kim | svapnastharājyabhikṣābhyāṃ prabuddhaḥ spṛśate khalu
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उत्तम-अधम-भावः चेत्uttama-adhama-bhāvaḥ cetif there is a higher and lower state
तेषां स्यात् अस्ति तेन किम्teṣāṃ syāt asti tena kimfor them — what of it?
स्वप्न-स्थ-राज्य-भिक्षाभ्यांsvapna-stha-rājya-bhikṣābhyāṃwith a kingdom and beggary in a dream
प्रबुद्धः स्पृशते खलुprabuddhaḥ spṛśate khaluis the awakened one touched, indeed?
Translation
"If there is a higher and lower state for them — what of it? Is the awakened one touched by a kingdom and beggary [seen] in a dream?"
Version
598ec0c46f2a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The comparison with dreaming is given, and it is the chief comparison of nondualist teaching; let us examine it. In a dream, a person is a king and a beggar; awake, he is neither rich nor poor for it. Hence, it is said, the differences in the world do not touch the awakened one either.
The comparison is strong, and it must be acknowledged that it explains much: a person's position in the world truly is not his essence, and anyone who has changed position knows this. The Vaishnava objection is not to the comparison, but to its extension, and the rule of "one part," discussed when reading the Mahavakya (p11). Here is the extension.
A dream ends of itself, without effort and without another's help; but from the cycle, by the testimony of all these books, no one exits of himself. A dream lasts hours, while the cycle, by their own reckoning, is beginningless. And chiefly: the awakened one is alone, while from the cycle one is led out.
Let us add an observation from life, decisive here. A person who dreams he is drowning wakes up himself. A person actually drowning does not wake up; he is pulled out.
And the whole difference between the two teachings comes down to which of the two cases is ours; and this cannot be decided by the comparison, for the comparison is drawn from the very case that needs to be proved.