Upaniṣads · Varāha 2.31
॥
Devanāgarī
अतः प्रपञ्चानुभवः सदा न हि स्वरूपबोधानुभवः सदा खलु । इति प्रपश्यन्परिपूर्णवेदनो न बन्धमुक्तो न च बद्ध एव तु
Transliteración (IAST)
ataḥ prapañcānubhavaḥ sadā na hi svarūpabodhānubhavaḥ sadā khalu | iti prapaśyanparipūrṇavedano na bandhamukto na ca baddha eva tu
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अतः प्रपञ्च-अनुभवःataḥ prapañca-anubhavaḥtherefore, experience of the manifest world
सदा न हिsadā na hiis not always
स्व-रूप-बोध-अनुभवःsva-rūpa-bodha-anubhavaḥexperience of awareness of one's own nature
सदा खलुsadā khaluis always, indeed
इति प्रपश्यन् परिपूर्ण-वेदनःiti prapaśyan paripūrṇa-vedanaḥthus seeing, full of knowledge
न बन्ध-मुक्तःna bandha-muktaḥis neither freed from bonds
न च बद्धः एव तुna ca baddhaḥ eva tunor bound
Traducción
"Therefore, experience of the manifest world is not always [present], while experience of awareness of one's own nature is always present. One who sees thus, full of knowledge, is neither freed from bonds nor bound."
Versión
33330f3a4b7e · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The argument of the first half deserves examination, for it is good and applies beyond any school. It is said: experience of the world is interrupted (it is absent in sleep), while self-awareness is not interrupted. That is, continuity is pointed to as the mark of what is truer.
This argument is fundamental in the Upanishads and is cited every time the three states are examined, discussed when reading the first chapter (1.11). Let us add an objection usually raised against it, and worth answering. It is objected: in deep sleep, self-awareness too is absent.
The Upanishads' answer is this: it is present, for in the morning a person testifies to that sleep: "I slept sweetly and knew nothing." Testimony of the absence of knowledge presupposes one who was present for it. This argument is, in my view, strong, and the Vaishnava side accepts it fully.
The second half of the line — na bandha-mukto na cha baddha eva tu, "neither freed nor bound" — is the usual definition in nondualist books, and deserves noting. It is built on the notion that there was no bondage, and hence no liberation either. The Vaishnava side does not accept such a definition, discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (6.38): if captivity is a misunderstanding, no liberator is needed; and its books call Him bhava-sindhu-pota, "the boat across the sea of existence," and a boat presumes the sea is genuine.