Upaniṣads · Varāha 3.16
॥
Devanāgarī
चण्डालदेहे पश्वादिस्थावरे ब्रह्मविग्रहे । अन्येषु तारतम्येन स्थितेषु न तथा ह्यहम्
Transliteración (IAST)
caṇḍāladehe paśvādisthāvare brahmavigrahe | anyeṣu tāratamyena sthiteṣu na tathā hyaham
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
चण्डाल-देहे पशु-आदि-स्थावरेcaṇḍāla-dehe paśu-ādi-sthāvarein the body of an outcaste, in beasts and the immobile
ब्रह्म-विग्रहेbrahma-vigrahein the form of a brahmin
अन्येषु तारतम्येन स्थितेषुanyeṣu tāratamyena sthiteṣuin the others, standing by degrees
न तथा हि अहम्na tathā hi ahamI, however, am not thus
Traducción
"In the body of an outcaste, in beasts, in the immobile, in the form of a brahmin, and in the others, standing by degrees, — I, however, am not thus."
Versión
faf2d384bed2 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Worth noting is the word taratamyena, "by degrees," from tara-tama, "more-most." This word denotes a ladder of degrees: some beings are higher, some lower. We met it when reading the Bhasma-jabala (2.29), where it was said "from Vishnu to a blade of grass — by taratamya"; and it was noted there that this teaching of degrees is a distinctive feature of one Vaishnava school.
Let us add what deserves saying of the relation between the two positions standing side by side in this verse. First: beings are arranged by degrees — outcaste, beast, plant, brahmin. Second: He is not thus, that is, beyond the ladder.
This combination is, in my view, correct, and the Vaishnava side accepts it fully. Degrees among beings do exist: not everyone is equal in capacity, in position, in purity. But all are equal in relation to Him, for He is beyond the ladder; and hence the distance from the outcaste to Him is no greater than from the brahmin.
Let us compare to what was said when reading the Yajnavalkya (4): there one is told to bow to the ground "even to a dog, an outcaste, a cow, and a donkey," for ishvaro jiva-kalaya pravishtah. Joining the two passages gives an arrangement worth holding onto: degrees exist, but no privilege does; the first pertains to their position among themselves, the second to their position before Him.