Upaniṣads · Varāha 2.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अतिवर्णाश्रमं रूपं सच्चिदानन्दलक्षणम् । यो न जानाति सोऽविद्वान्कदा मुक्तो भविष्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
ativarṇāśramaṃ rūpaṃ saccidānandalakṣaṇam | yo na jānāti so'vidvānkadā mukto bhaviṣyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अति-वर्ण-आश्रमं रूपंati-varṇa-āśramaṃ rūpaṃthe form exceeding castes and stations
सत्-चित्-आनन्द-लक्षणम्sat-cit-ānanda-lakṣaṇamwhose mark is being, consciousness, bliss
यः न जानाति सः अ-विद्वान्yaḥ na jānāti saḥ a-vidvānwho does not know — that one is unlearned
कदा मुक्तः भविष्यतिkadā muktaḥ bhaviṣyatiwhen, then, will he become free?
Traducción
"…the form exceeding castes and stations, whose mark is being, consciousness, bliss, — who does not know it is unlearned: when, then, will he become free?"
Versión
29630d4cfef8 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Here is a definition correcting the preceding verse, and it deserves noting: ati-varna-ashramam rupam, "the form exceeding castes and stations." That is, He Himself is beyond caste; and knowledge of Him, then, is not determined by caste. Combining the two verses gives an arrangement worth stating.
The preceding verse said: brahmin-hood is rarely obtained. This one says: the object of knowledge is beyond caste. It follows: caste may be good fortune for the seeker, but is not a property of what is sought; and hence it cannot be a condition either.
The Vaishnava side stands on exactly this, and the word ativarnashrami is technical for it: so is called one who has gone beyond castes and stations not by renunciation, but by service. Let us add what it means by this word, and what deserves knowing. A devotee, by its reckoning, belongs to none of the four castes and none of the four stations: he is outside the chart, for he serves outside category.
The Bhagavatam says this directly, calling such a one nirguna, "beyond qualities"; and the Chaitanya-charitamrita adds: naham vipro na cha nara-patir..., "I am not a brahmin, not a king, not a renunciate, not a student; I am the servant of the servant of the servant" (Madhya 13.80). Worth noting is that the list there is arranged as here: first the categories are listed, then it is said the speaker is beyond them; and one definition remains — whose he is.