Upanishads · Varāha 3.29
॥
Devanāgarī
द्रव्यमन्त्रक्रियाकालयुक्तयः साधुसिद्धिदाः । परमात्मपदप्राप्तौ नोपकुर्वन्ति काश्चन
Transliteration (IAST)
dravyamantrakriyākālayuktayaḥ sādhusiddhidāḥ | paramātmapadaprāptau nopakurvanti kāścana
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
द्रव्य-मन्त्र-क्रिया-काल-युक्तयःdravya-mantra-kriyā-kāla-yuktayaḥsubstance, mantra, rite, time, method
साधु सिद्धि-दाःsādhu siddhi-dāḥproperly grant perfections
परम-आत्म-पद-प्राप्तौparama-ātma-pada-prāptauin the attainment of the place of the Highest Self
न उपकुर्वन्ति काश्चनna upakurvanti kāścanathey help not at all
Translation
"Substance, mantra, rite, time, and method properly grant perfections; but in attaining the place of the Highest Self, they help not at all."
Version
a522c57086cc · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting is the word sadhu, "properly, correctly": it is said these means give perfections genuinely, not falsely. That is, the book does not deny the craft; it denies its applicability to the main matter. This distinction is, in my view, honest, and deserves holding onto.
There are objects attained by technique: technique attains them. There is an object not attained by technique; and persistence in technique brings no closer to it, for the matter is not the quantity of effort, but its kind. The Vaishnava side holds this distinction and states it through karma, jnana, and bhakti, discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (10.9).
Let us briefly repeat its position: the first two are means, and act by the rule "as much as you put in, so much you get out"; the third is a relation, and is not purchased. Let us add what it puts in place of the list of means. Instead of substance, mantra, rite, hour, and method, it has kripa, "grace," and sadhu-sanga, "company"; and both are not techniques, but meetings.
Hence its practice does not submit to calculation: one cannot say how many repetitions are needed for love to appear, as one says how many repetitions are needed for a capacity to appear.