Upaniṣads · Parabrahma 1.22
॥
Devanāgarī
सशिखं वपनं कृत्वा बहिःसूत्रं त्यजेद्बुधः । यदक्षरं परंब्रह्म तत्सूत्रमिति धारयेत्
Transliteración (IAST)
saśikhaṃ vapanaṃ kṛtvā bahiḥsūtraṃ tyajedbudhaḥ | yadakṣaraṃ paraṃbrahma tatsūtramiti dhārayet
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
स-शिखं वपनं कृत्वाsa-śikhaṃ vapanaṃ kṛtvāhaving performed the shaving, along with the tuft
बहिः-सूत्रं त्यजेत् बुधःbahiḥ-sūtraṃ tyajet budhaḥlet the wise one abandon the outer strand
यत् अ-क्षरं परं ब्रह्मyat a-kṣaraṃ paraṃ brahmathat which is imperishable, the highest brahman
तत् सूत्रम् इति धारयेत्tat sūtram iti dhārayetlet him wear that as a thread
Traducción
Having shaved the head along with the tuft, let the wise one abandon the outer strand; that which is imperishable, the highest brahman — let him wear that as a thread.
Versión
591af9520f19 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The first of fourteen verses about the thread, and in it the instruction is stated concretely: shave the head along with the tuft and remove the strand. This rite is known in Vaiṣṇava books and is performed on taking sannyāsa: the hair is shaved entirely, including the śikhā, and the thread is removed. Here it is described exactly as it is performed to this day.
Look at the second half, for the whole thought lies there: tat sūtram iti dhārayet, "let him wear that as a thread." Not "let him remain without a thread," but — let him wear another. This qualification runs through all fourteen verses and is the chief thing to take from them. What is spoken of is not abolition, but replacement; and a person who has removed the thread and put on no second one is not justified by this book.
The Vaiṣṇava reading understands it exactly so, and finds here its own rule, discussed more than once: attachment is not abolished, but redirected; a mark is not discarded, but exchanged for a greater one. And note the word dhārayet, "let him wear": one wears constantly, not on occasion; so the inner thread too presupposes not an impulse, but a practice.