Upanishads · Varāha 5.66
॥
Devanāgarī
रुद्रग्रन्थिं ततो भित्त्वा छित्वा मोहमलं तथा । अनेकजन्मसंस्कारगुरुदेवप्रसादतः
Transliteration (IAST)
rudragranthiṃ tato bhittvā chitvā mohamalaṃ tathā | anekajanmasaṃskāragurudevaprasādataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
रुद्र-ग्रन्थिं ततः भित्त्वाrudra-granthiṃ tataḥ bhittvāhaving pierced the Rudra-knot then
छित्वा मोह-मलं तथाchitvā moha-malaṃ tathāand having cut away the stain of delusion
अनेक-जन्म-संस्कार-aneka-janma-saṃskāra-from the habits of many births
गुरु-देव-प्रसादतःguru-deva-prasādataḥby the grace of teacher and deity
Translation
"Having pierced the Rudra-knot then, and having cut away the stain of delusion, — [freed] from the habits of many births, by the grace of teacher and deity…"
Version
49e11f3ac9aa · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a verse where, after all the craft, two conditions are named: guru-deva-prasadatah, "by the grace of teacher and deity." Worth singling this out, for it stands at the very end of the exposition of techniques. The whole chapter has set out craft: locks, blows, piercings.
And when it comes to the last knot, what is named is grace — that is, what technique does not procure. This detail is, in my view, the finest thing this chapter has, and it repeats what was noted when reading the second chapter (2.76): durlabha sahajavastha sad-guroh karunam vina, "the natural state is unattainable without the compassion of a true teacher." Let us add what is named as the second condition: aneka-janma-samskara, "the habits of many births."
That is, even with grace, it is required that a person not arrive empty; and of the fact that what has been accumulated is not lost, discussed when reading the fourth chapter (4.40). Joining both conditions, we get an arrangement the Vaishnava side holds as its own, discussed more than once: on the person's side, preparation; on the highest's side, grace; and the first does not buy the second, but neither does the second come upon an empty place. Let us add its own expression of this arrangement, for it is shorter than any argument.
Its verse states: kripa-siddha, "one perfected by grace," is counted alongside sadhana-siddha, "one perfected by exercise"; and both categories are recognized. But the order between them is this: exercise leads to the One who bestows grace, not to the fruit directly.