Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.104
॥
Devanāgarī
आदौ शमदमप्रायैर्गुणैः शिष्यं विशोधयेत् पश्चात्सर्वमिदं ब्रह्म शुद्धस्त्वमिति बोधयेत्
Transliteración (IAST)
ādau śamadamaprāyairguṇaiḥ śiṣyaṃ viśodhayet paścātsarvamidaṃ brahma śuddhastvamiti bodhayet
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
आदौ शम-दम-प्रायैःādau śama-dama-prāyaiḥfirst with calm, restraint and the like; at the outset with peace, self-mastery and such
गुणैः शिष्यम् विशोधयेत्guṇaiḥ śiṣyam viśodhayetqualities let him purify the pupil; virtues let him cleanse the disciple
पश्चात् सर्वम् इदम् ब्रह्मpaścāt sarvam idam brahmaafterwards — “all this is Brahman”; later on, “everything here is Brahman”
शुद्धः त्वम् इति बोधयेत्śuddhaḥ tvam iti bodhayet“thou art pure” — let him then declare; “thou art stainless” — let him then proclaim
Traducción
“First let him purify the pupil with qualities — calm, restraint and the like; and only afterwards declare: ‘All this is Brahman; thou art pure.’”
Versión
0532d1dfd836 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
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The verse is addressed to teachers, and it is among the most needed in the whole book.
The order: first the qualities, then the doctrine.
Śama and dama — “calm” and “restraint”: the first concerns the mind, the second the senses. Both stand in the well-known list of virtues that the Gītā calls natural to a brāhmaṇa.
And only paścāt — “afterwards” — is the chief thing said: “all this is Brahman; thou art pure”.
Why this order — the next verse will say, and say sharply.
Note the verb viśodhayet — “let him purify”. The teacher does not impart information; he washes the pupil, as in 5.83 the gem was washed.
The Vaiṣṇava tradition holds to the same order and grounds it the same way: a lofty teaching given to the unready does not raise him — it excuses him.