Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.74
॥
Devanāgarī
बद्धमुक्तो महीपालो ग्रासमात्रेण तुष्यति परैरबद्धो नाक्रान्तो न राष्ट्रं बहु मन्यते
Transliteración (IAST)
baddhamukto mahīpālo grāsamātreṇa tuṣyati parairabaddho nākrānto na rāṣṭraṃ bahu manyate
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
बद्ध-मुक्तः मही-पालःbaddha-muktaḥ mahī-pālaḥa king released from captivity; a sovereign let out of bonds
ग्रास-मात्रेण तुष्यतिgrāsa-mātreṇa tuṣyatiis content with a single morsel; is satisfied with one mouthful
परैः अबद्धः न आक्रान्तःparaiḥ abaddhaḥ na ākrāntaḥunbound by foes, unconquered; not fettered by enemies, not overrun
न राष्ट्रम् बहु मन्यतेna rāṣṭram bahu manyatehe rates not even a kingdom high; he counts not even the realm as much
Traducción
“A king released from captivity is content with a single morsel; but one unbound by foes and unconquered does not rate even a kingdom high.”
Versión
6310bcc5e432 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
An example for the previous verse, and a convincing one.
A king in a dungeon rejoices at a crust of bread. A king on the throne does not rejoice even at a kingdom.
One and the same man; the difference is in what he is deprived of.
Hence a conclusion the verse does not utter but which is obvious: the price of things is set not by the things but by our want.
This is the answer to why delights hold such sway. Not because they are good, but because we are straitened.
Recall 4.35–4.36 on contentment: what has come is partaken of “as the desired”. The king on the throne lives exactly so.
And note: the verse is set right after the warning that constraint sharpens the taste. Together they fold into a rule: freedom is given not by prohibitions but by the absence of want.