उपनिषद् · Praśna 5.3
॥
देवनागरी
स यद्य् एकमात्रम् अभिध्यायीत ।
स तेनैव संवेदितस् तूर्णम् एव जगत्याम् अभिसम्पद्यते ।
तम् ऋचो मनुष्यलोकम् उपनयन्ते ।
स तत्र तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धया सम्पन्नो महिमानम् अनुभवति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sa yady ekamātram abhidhyāyīta |
sa tenaiva saṃveditas tūrṇam eva jagatyām abhisampadyate |
tam ṛco manuṣyalokam upanayante |
sa tatra tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śraddhayā sampanno mahimānam anubhavati
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सः यदिsaḥ yadiif he; when he
एकमात्रम्ekamātramone measure (eka-mātra — a single mora of the syllable); one sound [of the three]; one part
अभिध्यायीतabhidhyāyītashould contemplate; should meditate
सःsaḥhe; such a man
तेन एवtena evaby this indeed; by this alone
संवेदितःsaṃveditaḥillumined (sam-√vid — 'lit up with knowledge'); endowed with knowing; enlightened
तूर्णम् एवtūrṇam evaquickly (tūrṇam); soon; without delay
जगत्याम्jagatyāmon the earth; in the earthly world
अभिसम्पद्यतेabhisampadyateattains; he returns
तम्tamit; such a one
ऋचःṛcaḥthe Ṛg-vedic hymns; the ṛcs
मनुष्यलोकम्manuṣyalokamto the human world; to the world of men
उपनयन्तेupanayantethey bring him (upa-√nī); they lead him up; they escort him
सः तत्रsaḥ tatrahe there; in this world
तपसाtapasāby asceticism; by spiritual heat
ब्रह्मचर्येणbrahmacaryeṇaby brahmacarya; by the discipline of chastity
श्रद्धयाśraddhayāby faith; by trusting attention
सम्पन्नःsampannaḥendowed; filled
महिमानम्mahimānamgreatness; dignity
अनुभवतिanubhavatihe lives through; experiences
अनुवाद
"If he contemplates one measure [of the syllable], then, illumined by it, he comes quickly [back] to the earth. The ṛc verses bring him to the world of men; there, endowed with austerity, continence and faith, he experiences greatness."
संस्करण
2e3feeee69c8 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 8:35:21 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The first step: sa yady eka-mātram abhidhyāyīta — "if he contemplates one mora" — the sound "a", one third of the syllable: an incomplete, surface remembrance. But even that is not lost: tenaiva saṁveditaḥ — "illumined by it" — tūrṇam eva jagatyām abhisampadyate — "he quickly reaches the earth": he returns to the human world — and not just anywhere in it: taṁ ṛco manuṣya-lokam upanayante — "the ṛcs (the hymns of the Ṛg-veda) bring him to the world of men", where he is endowed with tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śraddhayā — austerity, continence, faith — and mahimānam anubhavati — "experiences greatness".
The lesson of this step: on the spiritual path there are no losses. Even a weak, intermittent turning to the Name is credited in full: it gives no exit from the round but secures the best within the round — a human birth with an inclination to austerity and faith, that is, a new starting-place. The Gītā (2.40) coins the same law: svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt — "even a little of this dharma saves from the great fear"; and (6.41): the yogī who has fallen is born "in a house of the pure and the glorious".
So the first measure is mercy to the weak: an unfinished syllable is not fined but sown into the next life. But the syllable has a second and a third measure — higher.