Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ हैनं ऋभुं भगवन्तं निदाघः पप्रच्छ योगाभ्यासविधिमनुब्रूहीति । तथेति स होवाच । पञ्चभूतात्मको देहः पञ्चमण्डलपूरितः । काठिन्यं पृथिवीमेका पानीयं तद्द्रवाकृति
Transliteración (IAST)
atha hainaṃ ṛbhuṃ bhagavantaṃ nidāghaḥ papraccha yogābhyāsavidhimanubrūhīti | tatheti sa hovāca | pañcabhūtātmako dehaḥ pañcamaṇḍalapūritaḥ | kāṭhinyaṃ pṛthivīmekā pānīyaṃ taddravākṛti
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अथ ह एनं ऋभुं भगवन्तंatha ha enaṃ ṛbhuṃ bhagavantaṃthen, indeed, this Lord Ribhu
निदाघः पप्रच्छnidāghaḥ papracchaNidagha asked
योग-अभ्यास-विधिम् अनुब्रूहि इतिyoga-abhyāsa-vidhim anubrūhi iti'expound to me the rule of practice in yoga'
पञ्च-भूत-आत्मकः देहःpañca-bhūta-ātmakaḥ dehaḥthe body consists of the five elements
पञ्च-मण्डल-पूरितःpañca-maṇḍala-pūritaḥfilled with five circles
काठिन्यं पृथिवी एकाkāṭhinyaṃ pṛthivī ekāhardness — earth alone
पानीयं तत् द्रव-आकृतिpānīyaṃ tat drava-ākṛtiwater — that which has a fluid form
Traducción
"Then Nidagha asked the Lord Ribhu: 'expound to me the rule of practice in yoga.' 'Very well,' he said. The body consists of the five elements and is filled with five circles. Hardness is earth alone; water is that which has a fluid form…"
Versión
cc8abc275978 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The fifth, last, and longest chapter begins; and it is entirely devoted to craft: body, breath, postures, passages, and the inner resonance. This transition is abrupt: the fourth chapter ended in "the highest place of Vishnu," and the fifth begins with what the body is composed of. Worth noting, however, is that the question is asked anew — yoga-abhyasa-vidhim anubruhi, "expound to me the rule of practice"; that is, Nidagha now asks not about marks, but about the doing.
This construction is usual: first what is set out is where to go, then how. Let us add what deserves saying of the very device of recognizing the elements by property, for it begins here. Earth is recognized by kathinya, "hardness"; water by fluidity; and further, fire by luminescence, wind by movement, space by capacity.
That is, the elements are defined not as substances, but as properties; and this, in my view, is far more sensible than is usually thought of ancient teachings on the elements. The Vaishnava side accepts such an examination and has no dispute with it: a description of matter is a description of matter, and is neither for nor against. Its remark about such chapters is one, and briefly stated: an inventory is not a path.
Knowledge of what the body is composed of does not change one's relation to it; and a person who has memorized the composition is attached to the body exactly as much as one who has not studied it. Hence it places first not analysis, but a change of occupation; and of the fact that examination not changing one's practice has not occurred, discussed when reading the fourth chapter (4.4).