Upanishads · Varāha 5.12
॥
Devanāgarī
धारणा च तथा ध्यानं समधिश्चाष्टमो भवेत् । अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं ब्रह्मचर्यं दयार्जवम्
Transliteration (IAST)
dhāraṇā ca tathā dhyānaṃ samadhiścāṣṭamo bhavet | ahiṃsā satyamasteyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ dayārjavam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
धारणा च तथा ध्यानंdhāraṇā ca tathā dhyānaṃconcentration and likewise contemplation
समाधिः च अष्टमः भवेत्samādhiḥ ca aṣṭamaḥ bhavetand absorption will be the eighth
अ-हिंसा सत्यम् अ-स्तेयंa-hiṃsā satyam a-steyaṃnon-harming, truth, not taking
ब्रह्मचर्यं दया आर्जवम्brahmacaryaṃ dayā ārjavamcelibacy, compassion, uprightness
Translation
"Concentration, and likewise contemplation, and absorption will be the eighth. Non-harming, truth, not taking what is another's, celibacy, compassion, uprightness…"
Version
f3de3704f95c · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The list of ten restraints begins, and it is longer than Patanjali's, where there are five. Added are: daya (compassion), arjava (uprightness), kshama (patience), dhriti (steadfastness), mitahara (moderation in food) — and aparigraha (non-acquisitiveness) is replaced with shaucha (purity). Worth noting are the additions, for they are of a different order than the first five.
The first five are abstentions: not to harm, not to lie, not to take, not to fornicate, not to hoard. The additions are traits: to be compassionate, to be upright, to endure, to hold steady. This difference matters, and here is why.
An abstention is achieved by decision: one can resolve not to lie, and from tomorrow not lie. A trait is not achieved by decision: one cannot resolve to be compassionate; one can only behave as if one were, and this is not the same. The Vaishnava side stands on this distinction and draws from it its usual conclusion, cited when reading the Jabala-darshana (1.11).
Traits are not acquired by direct effort; they appear as a consequence of occupation. Its verse on this account is Bhagavatam 5.18.12: yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akinchana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah — in whom there is unalloyed devotion, in that one all good qualities dwell together with the gods. And the reverse is added: one who lacks it has no virtues, for his mind wanders.
That is, here the list is placed at the beginning, and there, at the end; and this, in my view, is the whole difference between a requirement and a fruit.