Upanishads · Varāha 5.52
॥
Devanāgarī
यस्मादुत्पद्यते बिन्दुर्यस्मान्नादः प्रवर्धते । यस्मादुत्पद्यते हंसो यस्मादुत्पद्यते मनः
Transliteration (IAST)
yasmādutpadyate binduryasmānnādaḥ pravardhate | yasmādutpadyate haṃso yasmādutpadyate manaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्मात् उत्पद्यते बिन्दुःyasmāt utpadyate binduḥwhence the point is born
यस्मात् नादः प्रवर्धतेyasmāt nādaḥ pravardhatewhence the resonance increases
यस्मात् उत्पद्यते हंसःyasmāt utpadyate haṃsaḥwhence the swan is born
यस्मात् उत्पद्यते मनःyasmāt utpadyate manaḥwhence the mind is born
Translation
"Whence the point is born, whence the resonance increases, whence the swan is born, whence the mind is born…"
Version
e344615ef602 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is listed what issues from this base: wind, fire, point, resonance, the swan, and mind. Worth noting hamsa, "swan," for in Indian literature this word is among the most heavily laden. Hamsa means "goose, swan," and the word carries three meanings at once.
First — breath: exhalation and inhalation are held to sound out ham-sa, discussed when reading the third verse of this chapter. Second — the soul, and specifically the soul in flight: the image of a bird, discussed when reading the sixth verse. Third — the renounced; and the highest rank of wanderers is called paramahamsa, "the supreme swan," discussed when reading Yajnavalkya (p11).
Let us add why the swan in particular was chosen, for this explanation is given in the literature itself and is a good one. The swan is said to be able to separate milk from water, drinking the one and leaving the other. This ability is, of course, legendary; but the image is fine: one who discerns takes what is his and does not take what is another's.
The Vaishnava side holds this image and applies it to its own discernment, discussed more than once: to take from the world what serves service, and to leave the rest. That is, renunciation is understood not as refusal of the mixture, but as the skill of drinking the milk from it; and this, in my view, is the best short account of yukta-vairagya that can be given.