Upaniṣads · Varāha 5.69
॥
Devanāgarī
आप्यायनः प्लुतो वापि त्रिविधोच्चारणेन तु । तैलधारामिवच्छिन्नं दीर्घघण्टानिनादवत्
Transliteración (IAST)
āpyāyanaḥ pluto vāpi trividhoccāraṇena tu | tailadhārāmivacchinnaṃ dīrghaghaṇṭāninādavat
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
आप्यायनः प्लुतः वा अपिāpyāyanaḥ plutaḥ vā apisatisfying, or else extended
त्रि-विध-उच्चारणेन तुtri-vidha-uccāraṇena tuby the threefold pronunciation
तैल-धाराम् इव अ-च्छिन्नंtaila-dhārām iva a-cchinnaṃunbroken like a stream of oil
दीर्घ-घण्टा-निनादवत्dīrgha-ghaṇṭā-ninādavatlike the long resonance of a bell
Traducción
"Satisfying, or else extended — by the threefold pronunciation; unbroken like a stream of oil, like the long resonance of a bell."
Versión
53629ac52f78 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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Two comparisons are given, both excellent, and worth setting out. The first — taila-dharam iva, "like a stream of oil." Oil pours evenly and does not break: its stream is unbroken, while water scatters in drops.
This comparison is fundamental in Indian literature for describing the unbroken, and Patanjali applies it to contemplation itself: dhyana is the unbroken flow of thought toward one thing, as oil flows. The second — dirgha-ghanta-ninadavat, "like the long resonance of a bell." A bell's resonance is remarkable in that it fades without breaking: the strike is over, yet the sound goes on, growing ever thinner, until it passes imperceptibly into silence.
Both comparisons speak of one thing: what is sought is not force, but unbrokenness. The Vaishnava side holds the comparison with oil and applies it to its own chief matter, worth citing here. The Bhagavatam (3.29.11-12) defines the highest devotion thus: mad-guna-shruti-matrena mayi sarva-guhashaye mano-gatir avichchhinna yatha gangambhaso'mbudhau.
Translated: "when, merely on hearing of My qualities, the movement of the mind toward Me is as unbroken as the flow of the Ganga's waters to the ocean." Worth noting that there the unbrokenness is ascribed not to sound and not to breath, but to an inclination; and that the image is taken not from oil, but from a river, which flows to the sea by itself, and is compelled by no one.