Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.39
॥
Devanāgarī
भूमिकासप्तकं चैतद्धीमतामेव गोचरम् प्राप्य ज्ञानदशामेतां पशुम्लेच्छादयोऽपि ये
Transliteración (IAST)
bhūmikāsaptakaṃ caitaddhīmatāmeva gocaram prāpya jñānadaśāmetāṃ paśumlecchādayo'pi ye
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
भूमिका-सप्तकम् च एतत्bhūmikā-saptakam ca etatand this sevenfold of stages; and the said seven steps
धीमताम् एव गोचरम्dhīmatām eva gocaramis within reach of the intelligent alone; is attainable only for the understanding
प्राप्य ज्ञान-दशाम् एताम्prāpya jñāna-daśām etāmyet having reached this state of knowledge; but upon gaining this condition of knowing
पशु-म्लेच्छ-आदयः अपि येpaśu-mleccha-ādayaḥ api yeeven beasts, barbarians and the rest; even animals, outlanders and their like
Traducción
“And this sevenfold of stages is within reach of the intelligent alone; yet even beasts, barbarians and the rest, having reached this state of knowledge…”
Versión
11a2a063ef83 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse begins with a restriction and at once removes it; it will be finished in the next.
First it is said: the ladder is for the dhīmat, “the intelligent”.
And then: paśu-mleccha-ādayo'pi — “even beasts, mlecchas and the rest”.
Mleccha is “a foreigner, a barbarian”, a man outside the Vedic order and tongue. In common parlance the word is disparaging.
And it is these that are named alongside the beasts — and alike capable.
There is no contradiction with the first line, if it is understood exactly: the ladder as a teaching is accessible to those able to parse it. But the state to which it leads is accessible to all.
This is an important passage, and the Vaiṣṇava tradition has always appealed to such. The capacity to know God is not dealt out by birth, nor taken away with one's language.