Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.35
॥
Devanāgarī
कालवञ्चनमेतद्धि सर्वमुख्यं प्रचक्षते । मनसा चिन्तिता कार्यं मनसा येन सिध्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
kālavañcanametaddhi sarvamukhyaṃ pracakṣate | manasā cintitā kāryaṃ manasā yena sidhyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
काल-वञ्चनम् एतत् हिkāla-vañcanam etat hithis indeed is the deceiving of time
सर्व-मुख्यं प्रचक्षतेsarva-mukhyaṃ pracakṣatethey call it the chiefest of all
मनसा चिन्तिता कार्यंmanasā cintitā kāryaṃa task conceived by the mind
मनसा येन सिध्यतिmanasā yena sidhyatisucceeds by the mind alone
Traducción
"This indeed is the deceiving of time, and they call it the chiefest of all; for a task conceived by the mind succeeds by the mind alone."
Versión
989f38eefd99 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Worth noting is the phrase kala-vanchana, "the deceiving of time." Vanchana means "deception, cheating"; and the technique is named directly: time is deceived. This phrase is more candid than usual: it is not said "they conquer death" or "they surpass time," but "they deceive."
That is, it is acknowledged that time still proceeds, and only a postponement is attained; and this agrees with what was said when reading verse seven. Let us add the second half, more curious than the first: manasa chintita karyam manasa yena sidhyati, "a task conceived by the mind succeeds by the mind alone." This position is fundamental in books on yoga and means the power of accomplishment lies in the mind, not the body; and hence all the work is turned upon the mind.
The Vaishnava side agrees with the first half of this position, and disputes the second; and it is worth saying wherein. It agrees that the mind decides: the Gita too says the mind is either friend or foe (6.6), discussed when reading the third chapter (3.21). It disputes that the mind remakes itself.
Its argument is brief and was cited when reading the second chapter (2.70): with what will the mind correct the mind, if the corrector and the corrected are one? Hence its means comes from outside: the Name, heard from another; company, entered into; a teacher, who speaks the unpleasant. The mind is changed by what enters it, not by what it decides about itself.