Upaniṣads · Yājñavalkya p19
॥
Devanāgarī
यथा जातरूपधरा निर्द्वन्द्वा निष्परिग्रहास्तत्त्वब्रह्ममार्गे सम्यक्सम्पन्नाः शुद्धमानसाः
Transliteración (IAST)
yathā jātarūpadharā nirdvandvā niṣparigrahāstattvabrahmamārge samyaksampannāḥ śuddhamānasāḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
यथा जात-रूप-धराःyathā jāta-rūpa-dharāḥas when born in form
निर्द्वन्द्वाः निष्परिग्रहाःnirdvandvāḥ niṣparigrahāḥbeyond the pairs of opposites, accepting nothing
तत्त्व-ब्रह्म-मार्गे सम्यक् सम्पन्नाःtattva-brahma-mārge samyak sampannāḥfully established on the path of truth and brahman
शुद्ध-मानसाःśuddha-mānasāḥwith a pure mind
Traducción
As when born in form, beyond the pairs of opposites, accepting nothing, fully established on the path of truth and brahman, with a pure mind …
Versión
82c9c19849ae · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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It is worth noting the phrase yathā jāta-rūpa-dharāḥ, "as one bearing the form in which he was born" — that is, naked. This phrase is a polite designation of nakedness in Sanskrit: one does not say "naked," but "in the form in which he was born." This detail is telling: language goes around the word, but custom does not go around the deed.
Let us speak of nakedness itself, for it occurs in these books and requires explanation. The nakedness of the renounced is the last step of non-acceptance: clothing is the last thing a person takes from the world, and refusing it is a refusal of this too. It is worth saying, however, that the Vaiṣṇava side did not adopt this, and it is worth saying why.
The reason is not modesty, but service: her renounced wear clothing, because they must appear among people, preach, and take food in houses; and a naked man will not go out to people. That is, the distinction here follows from a distinction of goals. A renunciation turned toward oneself can afford nakedness; a renunciation turned toward others cannot.
Let us add the word nirdvandva, "beyond the pairs of opposites," worth mentioning separately. Dvandva is a pair of opposites: heat and cold, honor and dishonor, the pleasant and the unpleasant. To be beyond them means neither chasing one nor fleeing the other.
The Gītā demands the same, and moreover of a warrior, not a hermit: nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho, "be beyond the pairs of opposites, ever established in being" (2.45); that is, this quality is not tied to a way of life.