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Upaniṣads · Śāṭyāyanīya 33
॥
Devanāgarī
विद्या ह वै ब्राह्मणमाजगाम गोपाय मां शेवधिष्टेऽहमस्मि । असूयकायानृजवे शठाय मा मा ब्रूया वीर्यवती तथा स्याम्
Transliteración (IAST)
vidyā ha vai brāhmaṇamājagāma gopāya māṃ śevadhiṣṭe'hamasmi | asūyakāyānṛjave śaṭhāya mā mā brūyā vīryavatī tathā syām
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
विद्या ह वैvidyā ha vaiknowledge indeed
ब्राह्मणम् आजगामbrāhmaṇam ājagāmacame to the brahmin
गोपाय मांgopāya māṃ"guard me"
शेवधिः ते अहम् अस्मिśevadhiḥ te aham asmi"I am your treasure"
अ-सूयकाय अन्-ऋजवेa-sūyakāya an-ṛjaveto the envious, the dishonest
शठायśaṭhāyathe crafty
मा मा ब्रूयाःmā mā brūyāḥdo not speak me
वीर्यवती तथा स्याम्vīryavatī tathā syāmthus shall I be strong
Traducción
"Knowledge indeed came to the brahmin [and said]: 'guard me, I am your treasure. To the envious, the dishonest, the crafty do not speak me: thus shall I be strong.'"
Versión
3650f822db99 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Here is a beautiful passage, and it is worth examining, for it is among the finest in the whole of Vedic literature. The verse is taken from the Nirukta (2.4), where Yāska cites it as an ancient saying; and it is built on a device rare in these books: knowledge speaks for itself. Vidyā ha vai brāhmaṇam ājagāma, "knowledge came to the brahmin": it came of itself, as a guest comes.
And it said: gopāya māṃ śevadhis te'ham asmi, "guard me, I am your treasure." Śevadhi means "treasure, hoard, buried wealth." It is worth appreciating what is said here: knowledge is not booty taken by the pupil, but something entrusted for safekeeping; and so his duty is not "to hold it in memory" but to guard it.
Let us add the request for whose sake the verse is cited: mā mā brūyāḥ, "do not speak me" — to the envious, the dishonest, the crafty. The reason given is unexpected: vīryavatī tathā syām, "thus shall I be strong." That is, knowledge asks for non-disclosure not for the sake of secrecy but for its own preservation: spread carelessly, it grows weak.
The Vaiṣṇava side knows this feeling and voices it through the word guhya, "hidden"; but her rule was cited when reading the Gaṇapati (11.3), and it is worth repeating, for it limits the present one. She does not forbid proclaiming: the Name is sung aloud and before everyone. She forbids placing what is hidden into unready hands; and the distinction between "do not shout" and "do not give it to just anyone" is, to my mind, the whole difference between secrecy and carefulness.