Upaniṣads · Avadhūta 3
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्य प्रियं शिरः कृत्वा मोदो दक्षिणपक्षकः । प्रमोद उत्तरः पक्ष आनन्दो गोष्पदायते
Transliteración (IAST)
tasya priyaṃ śiraḥ kṛtvā modo dakṣiṇapakṣakaḥ | pramoda uttaraḥ pakṣa ānando goṣpadāyate
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तस्य प्रियं शिरः कृत्वाtasya priyaṃ śiraḥ kṛtvāfor him, the pleasant made into the head
मोदः दक्षिण-पक्षकःmodaḥ dakṣiṇa-pakṣakaḥjoy — the right wing
प्रमोदः उत्तरः पक्षःpramodaḥ uttaraḥ pakṣaḥrapture — the left wing
आनन्दः गोष्पदायतेānandaḥ goṣpadāyatebliss — like the print of a cow's hoof
Traducción
For him the pleasant is the head, joy the right wing, rapture the left wing, bliss [the middle, like] the print of a cow's hoof…
Versión
173a91a164eb · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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The line is taken from the Taittirīya (2.5.1), which describes the ānandamaya-kośa, "the sheath of bliss" — the innermost of the five. There it says: "for him the pleasant is the head, joy the right wing, rapture the left wing, bliss the essence, brahman the tail, the support." The image of the bird deserves examination, for it runs through all five sheaths in the Taittirīya and is good for its concreteness. Each sheath has a head, two wings, a body, and a tail; and the tail is each time called pratiṣṭhā, "support."
Look at the structure of the sheath of bliss itself. First — priya, "the pleasant": what is pleasing when merely thought of. Second — moda, "joy": when obtained. Third — pramoda, "rapture": when enjoyed. Fourth — ānanda, bliss itself.
This distinction is subtle and familiar to everyone from experience: anticipation, receiving, possessing — three different joys, and they do not blend. The Vaiṣṇava reading holds to this ladder and finds it in its own tradition. It is worth noting only that both in the Taittirīya and here, bliss is named not the limit, but a sheath; beyond it stands one thing more, and the next line will speak of it.