Upaniṣads · Muṇḍaka 1.2.7
॥
Devanāgarī
प्लवाः हि एते अदृढाः यज्ञरूपाः अष्टादश उक्तम् अवरं येषु कर्म ।
एतत् श्रेयः ये अभिनन्दन्ति मूढाः जरामृत्युं ते पुनः एव अपि यन्ति ॥
Transliteración (IAST)
plavāḥ hi ete adṛḍhāḥ yajñarūpāḥ aṣṭādaśa uktam avaraṃ yeṣu karma |
etat śreyaḥ ye abhinandanti mūḍhāḥ jarāmṛtyuṃ te punaḥ eva api yanti ||
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
प्लवाः हिplavāḥ hirafts indeed (plava — 'a float'); rafts precisely; boats
एतेetethese; such are they
अदृढाःadṛḍhāḥunsound (a-dṛḍha); unsteady; unreliable
यज्ञरूपाःyajñarūpāḥthe forms of sacrifice (yajña-rūpa); the sacrificial modes; the kinds of rite
अष्टादशaṣṭādaśaeighteen (aṣṭādaśa); eighteenfold; eighteen in number
उक्तम्uktamwhat is said; what is declared
अवरम्avaramthe lower (avara); the inferior; the lesser
येषुyeṣuin which; among which
कर्मkarmaaction; ritual karma
एतत्etatthis; precisely this
श्रेयःśreyaḥthe highest good; the better
येyethose who; they who
अभिनन्दन्तिabhinandantithey welcome (abhi-√nand — 'to rejoice'); they praise; they gladly accept
मूढाःmūḍhāḥthe deluded; fools
जरामृत्युम्jarāmṛtyumto old age and death (jarā-mṛtyu); to decay and destruction; into the round of ageing and dying
तेtethey; such
पुनः एव अपिpunaḥ eva apiagain indeed; once more
यन्तिyantigo; come
Traducción
"But unsound are these rafts — the eighteen forms of sacrifice, to which the lower karma is entrusted. Fools who welcome this as the highest good come again to old age and death."
Versión
cb91fcb5b8a2 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 20:10:40 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The turning point of the whole Upaniṣad, in a single word: plavā hy ete adṛḍhāḥ — "rafts are these, unsound": the eighteen components of the sacrificial act (the sixteen priests, the sacrificer and his wife — the whole glorious apparatus of ritual) are called bundles of reeds in the middle of an ocean. A raft is neither a bridge nor a shore: it bears you while it holds together, and falls apart amid the waters; everything "made" (sukṛta — verse 15) is made of time, and by time it is washed away.
etac chreyo ye 'bhinandanti mūḍhāḥ — "those who welcome this as the [highest] good are fools": what is condemned is not the raft — it is the halting on the raft: the absolutising of a means. The diagnosis is the same as in the Kaṭha: to confuse preyas with śreyas, the pleasant-and-attainable with the Good. jarā-mṛtyuṁ te punar evāpi yanti — "they come again to old age and death": the raft's itinerary is a circle: up by merit, down as merit is spent (Gītā 9.21: kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti — "their merit spent, they enter the world of mortals").
The image of the raft is profound and merciful: rafts are needed! — but for crossing, not for dwelling. The trouble is not that a man boarded the raft of sacrifice, but that he settled on it for good, taking the pitching for a harbour. The following verses will describe the psychology of this fatal settling.