Upanishads · Varāha 4.41
॥
Devanāgarī
अनेकजन्माभ्यासेन वामदेवेन वै पथा । सोऽपि मुक्तिं समाप्नोति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्
Transliteration (IAST)
anekajanmābhyāsena vāmadevena vai pathā | so'pi muktiṃ samāpnoti tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनेक-जन्म-अभ्यासेनaneka-janma-abhyāsenaby the practice of many births
वाम-देवेन वै पथाvāma-devena vai pathāby the path of Vamadeva indeed
सः अपि मुक्तिं समाप्नोतिsaḥ api muktiṃ samāpnotihe too attains liberation
तत् विष्णोः परमं पदम्tat viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padamthat is the highest place of Vishnu
Translation
"By the practice of many births, by the path of Vamadeva, he too attains liberation — that is the highest place of Vishnu."
Version
ad4c9008c764 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting is that the goal of both paths is named by one and the same expression: tad vishnoh paramam padam, "that highest place of Vishnu." This expression is Vedic, taken from the famous hymn of the Rigveda (1.22.20): tad vishnoh paramam padam sada pashyanti surayah, "that highest place of Vishnu the wise always see, like an eye stretched across the sky." Discussed when reading the Tarasara (3.13), where it also closed that book.
This verse stands at the end of the exposition of two paths and serves as their common conclusion. That is, wherever a person goes, by bird or by ant, he arrives at one place, and that place is named. This detail is, in my view, the chief thing in this chapter.
The whole dispute over paths is a dispute over means; but the goal here is named not "undivided consciousness" and not "non-dual," but the place of Vishnu. The Vaishnava side builds its reading of the whole Vedic literature on exactly this: where the goal is spoken of in general, an abstract word stands; where the final limit is named, a name surfaces. Let us add the word pada, "place, foot, footstep."
It means also "footprint"; and in the ancient understanding, vishnoh paramam padam is "the highest footstep of Vishnu" — that which His third step reached, discussed when reading the Tarasara. That is, the Highest is named, in language itself, as the very place He stepped to; and this is, in my view, the most eloquent of Vedic expressions.