Upaniṣads · Varāha 2.78
॥
Devanāgarī
रसस्य मनसश्चैव चञ्चलत्वं स्वभावतः । रसो बद्धो मनो बद्धं किं न सिद्ध्यति भूतले
Transliteración (IAST)
rasasya manasaścaiva cañcalatvaṃ svabhāvataḥ | raso baddho mano baddhaṃ kiṃ na siddhyati bhūtale
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
रसस्य मनसः च एवrasasya manasaḥ ca evaof mercury and of the mind, likewise
चञ्चलत्वं स्व-भावतःcañcalatvaṃ sva-bhāvataḥrestlessness is by nature
रसः बद्धः मनः बद्धंrasaḥ baddhaḥ manaḥ baddhaṃmercury bound, mind bound
किं न सिद्ध्यति भू-तलेkiṃ na siddhyati bhū-talewhat will not succeed on earth?
Traducción
"Of mercury and of the mind alike, restlessness is by nature; mercury bound, mind bound — what will not succeed on earth?"
Versión
176469f7160a · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Here the book unexpectedly turns to alchemy, and it deserves noting, for the subject has not appeared before. The word rasa means both "taste" and "sap," and — in this usage — mercury; and the science of it is called rasa-shastra, "the science of mercury," or rasa-ayana, "the path of mercury." This practice was developed in India and interwoven with yoga: mercury was held the seed of Shiva, and working with it was thought akin to working with the mind.
The comparison given here rests on this kinship: mercury and mind are equally restless, and both are "bound." The word baddha, "bound," is technical among alchemists and means the fixing of mercury: its transformation from fluid to solid. Let us say plainly what deserves saying of this.
Alchemy as a craft does not concern us; but the comparison itself is precise, and deserves noting. Mercury is remarkable for being a metal that flows: it does not hold a shape, and every attempt to take it by hand ends with it scattering into little balls. The mind is likewise; and anyone who has tried to gather it recognizes this description.
The Vaishnava side does not practice alchemy and does not write of it; but the comparison with mercury appears in it with the same meaning, and the conclusion drawn is the one we have drawn more than once: what scatters is not gathered by force, but by giving it one place it is drawn to of itself.