Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.5
॥
Devanāgarī
तेजःक्षये क्षुधा कान्तिर्नश्यते मारुतक्षये । वेपथुः संभवेन्नित्यं नाम्भसेनैव जीवति
Transliteración (IAST)
tejaḥkṣaye kṣudhā kāntirnaśyate mārutakṣaye | vepathuḥ saṃbhavennityaṃ nāmbhasenaiva jīvati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तेजः-क्षये क्षुधाtejaḥ-kṣaye kṣudhāat the diminishing of fire, hunger
कान्तिः नश्यते मारुत-क्षयेkāntiḥ naśyate māruta-kṣayebeauty perishes at the diminishing of wind
वेपथुः संभवेत् नित्यंvepathuḥ saṃbhavet nityaṃtrembling constantly occurs
न अम्भसा एव जीवतिna ambhasā eva jīvatihe does not live by water alone
Traducción
"At the diminishing of fire, [hunger vanishes]; beauty perishes at the diminishing of wind; trembling constantly occurs; and he does not live by water alone."
Versión
bb298f740ab1 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The inventory of aging continues, and the observations are again correct: appetite fades, the face withers, trembling appears. Worth noting is that trembling is ascribed to the diminishing of wind, that is, of movement. The observation is precise: age-related trembling is exactly a disorder of the control of movement, and the explanation through "wind" is closer to the matter than in the preceding verse.
Let us add what deserves saying of the very construction of these explanations, for it is curious. The elements here work not as substances, but as principles of action; and hence "the diminishing of wind" means the diminishing of movement in general. Read this way, the explanations become sensible: the diminishing of fire is the diminishing of digestion, and hunger truly does fade in the old because digestion weakens.
That is, before us is not superstition, but early physiology, set out in the words available. The Vaishnava side does not enter such examinations and builds no teaching of the body; and it is worth saying plainly why. Its books occupy themselves with the body only insofar as it serves: whether it is fit for bowing, singing, going to the temple, cooking.
Its rule is stated by Rupa Gosvami as yukta-vairagya: the body is neither exhausted nor pampered, but used; discussed when reading the Jabala-darshana (7.4). With this view, a detailed inventory of the diminishing of the elements is unneeded: it is enough to know the body wears out, and that one should hasten.