Upanishads · Varāha 4.7
॥
Devanāgarī
दशाचतुष्टयाभ्यासादसंसर्गफला तु या । रूढसत्त्वचमत्कारा प्रोक्ता संसक्तिनामिका
Transliteration (IAST)
daśācatuṣṭayābhyāsādasaṃsargaphalā tu yā | rūḍhasattvacamatkārā proktā saṃsaktināmikā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दशा-चतुष्टय-अभ्यासात्daśā-catuṣṭaya-abhyāsātby practice on the four states
अ-संसर्ग-फला तु याa-saṃsarga-phalā tu yāthat whose fruit is non-association
रूढ-सत्त्व-चमत्काराrūḍha-sattva-camatkārāwith the wonder of clarity grown
प्रोक्ता संसक्ति-नामिकाproktā saṃsakti-nāmikāis called by the name non-attachment
Translation
"That which, by practice on the four states, has non-association as its fruit, and in which the wonder of clarity has grown, is called by the name non-attachment."
Version
60845f609a04 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Worth noting is the word chamatkara, "wonder," for it is unexpected here. Chamatkara is a word of poetics and denotes the sudden "ah" a successful verse or painting evokes. That is, the fifth stage is described not as calm, but as wonder; and this is, in my view, the most curious word in the whole chapter.
This word is fundamental in Vaishnava literature and belongs to the teaching of rasa, discussed when reading the second chapter (2.71). In poetics it denotes the taste gained through contemplation: the viewer is astonished not by what he understood, but by what he experienced. And its appearance here shows that even in a ladder leading to non-attachment, at the upper rungs the language of itself turns to the words of taste.
Let us add what deserves noting in the other half of the definition. The fruit is named a-samsarga, "non-association." That is, on one side wonder, on the other, withdrawal from society; and this combination is, in my view, internally contradictory.
Wonder is what one shares: everyone astonished seeks someone to tell. Hence the Vaishnava side, at the upper rungs, demands not non-association, but the opposite — kirtana, "proclaiming"; and of the fact that one keeps silent about what is found only when one has not found it, discussed when reading the Ganapati (11.3).