Upaniṣads · Jābāladarśana 2.3
॥
Devanāgarī
वेदोक्तेन प्रकारेण कृच्छ्रचान्द्रयणादिभिः । शरीरशोषणं यत्तत्तप इत्युच्यते बुधैः
Transliteración (IAST)
vedoktena prakāreṇa kṛcchracāndrayaṇādibhiḥ | śarīraśoṣaṇaṃ yattattapa ityucyate budhaiḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
वेद-उक्तेन प्रकारेणveda-uktena prakāreṇaby the manner prescribed by the Veda
कृच्छ्र-चान्द्रायण-आदिभिःkṛcchra-cāndrāyaṇa-ādibhiḥby krichchhra, chandrayana, and the rest
शरीर-शोषणं यत् तत्śarīra-śoṣaṇaṃ yat tatwhat drying-out of the body
तपः इति उच्यते बुधैःtapaḥ iti ucyate budhaiḥthat is called austerity by the wise
Traducción
"The drying-out of the body by the manner prescribed by the Veda — by krichchhra, chandrayana, and the rest — that the wise call austerity."
Versión
dedc57b7edc5 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Tapas is defined materially: sharira-shoshana, "the drying-out of the body." The methods too are named. Krichchhra ("the difficult one") is a fast in which one eats once a day for three days, once a night for three days, eats only what is offered unasked for three days, and does not eat at all for three days. Chandrayana ("the lunar walking") is a fast by the moon: from the full moon, one reduces the portion by a mouthful each day until total abstinence at the new moon, then adds it back.
The second method, it should be noted, is reasonably arranged: it does not demand a heroic burst, but measures the effort so that it rises and falls; and anyone who has tried prolonged deprivation knows that measured effort is borne, while a burst ends in a break. Let us say, however, what can be said about this definition as a matter of substance. Drying-out of the body is a measurable austerity: how many days without eating, how many mouthfuls cut. And this is why it is so appealing: there is an account here, a visible success, something to take pride in.
The Vaishnava side does not reject such austerities — it has fasts of its own — but sets over them a different measure, and states it sharply. The Gita speaks of those who exhaust "the combination of elements in the body and Me, who dwell within the body," saying their austerity is asura-nishchayan, "of demonic resolve" (17.5–6). This is a strong word, and it is worth understanding why it is used. Not against fasting as such, but against fasting for display, and without an object: against self-torment that has no one to whom it is offered.
The very next line of this book, it must be said in advance, will define austerity quite differently — and that definition will be the better one.