Upaniṣads · Mantrikā 8
॥
Devanāgarī
पश्यन्त्यस्यां महात्मानः सुवर्णं पिप्पलाशनम् । उदासीनं ध्रुवं हंसं स्नातकाध्वर्यवो जगुः
Transliteración (IAST)
paśyantyasyāṃ mahātmānaḥ suvarṇaṃ pippalāśanam | udāsīnaṃ dhruvaṃ haṃsaṃ snātakādhvaryavo jaguḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
पश्यन्ति अस्याम् महात्मानःpaśyanti asyām mahātmānaḥthe great-souled see in her; the great of spirit behold in her
सुवर्णम् पिप्पलाशनम्suvarṇam pippalāśanamthe golden one, eating the pippala fruit; the golden one, feeding on the berry
उदासीनम् ध्रुवम् हंसम्udāsīnam dhruvam haṃsamthe indifferent, immovable swan; the detached, firm haṃsa
स्नातकाध्वर्यवः जगुःsnātakādhvaryavaḥ jaguḥthe snātakas and adhvaryus have sung him; the snātakas and the adhvaryu priests have chanted him
Traducción
The great-souled see in her the golden one who eats the pippala fruit, the indifferent, immovable swan — him the snātakas and the adhvaryu priests have sung.
Versión
6a50dae96551 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 3:00:17 UTC
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Here the image of the two birds is named outright: pippalāśana — “the eater of the pippala fruit”, that is, of the fig.
This is a direct reference to the hymn quoted by both the Muṇḍaka and the Śvetāśvatara: “two birds, close companions, clasp one tree; one of them eats the sweet berry, the other looks on without eating”.
But notice what has been done with the image here. The eater is called udāsīna — “indifferent, sitting apart”.
In the hymn these are two different marks of two different birds: one eats, the other is aloof. Here they are merged into one.
The sense that emerges is this: He both partakes and remains untouched. Not because He does not eat, but because His eating does not bind Him.
And this is the Vaiṣṇava understanding of what distinguishes the Lord from the jīva: not abstinence, but invulnerability.
Suvarṇa — “golden”; so the Muṇḍaka calls the Puruṣa. The snātakas are those who have completed their studies; the adhvaryus are the priests of the Yajurveda. The singers are named to say: this is no novelty, this is ancient testimony.