उपनिषद् · Rāma-tāpanī Uttara 5.10
॥
देवनागरी
ब्रह्महत्यासहस्राणि ज्ञानाज्ञानकृतानि च । स्वर्णस्तेय सुरापान गुरुतल्पायुतानि च
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
brahmahatyāsahasrāṇi jñānājñānakṛtāni ca | svarṇasteya surāpāna gurutalpāyutāni ca
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
ब्रह्महत्यासहस्राणिbrahmahatyāsahasrāṇithousands of brāhmaṇa-slayings; thousands of brahma-hatyās
ज्ञानाज्ञानकृतानि चjñānājñānakṛtāni cadone knowingly and unknowingly; committed with knowledge and without
स्वर्णस्तेय सुरापानsvarṇasteya surāpānatheft of gold, drinking of liquor; stealing of gold, wine-drinking
गुरुतल्पायुतानि चgurutalpāyutāni caand myriads of defilings of the teacher's bed; and tens of thousands of sins with the guru's wife
अनुवाद
“Thousands of brāhmaṇa-slayings, done knowingly and unknowingly, theft of gold, drinking of liquor and myriads of defilings of the teacher's bed…”
संस्करण
5846f9c35f42 · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 5:15:19 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The great sins are named — mahāpātaka — and named by the classic list every dharma-śāstra knows.
They are five: the slaying of a brāhmaṇa, the drinking of liquor, the theft of a brāhmaṇa's gold, the defiling of the teacher's bed, and fellowship with one who has done any of the four.
For these by law there is no ordinary expiation: for them banishment from society is appointed, and sometimes death.
And now they are listed “by thousands” and “by myriads”.
The exaggeration is deliberate and works as in the previous verse: it matters not how many — it matters that counting is meaningless.
Let us mark the proviso: jñāna-ajñāna-kṛtāni — “done knowingly and unknowingly”. This distinction is basic in the śāstras: the conscious sin is heavier. Here it is lifted.
And let me say what must be said plainly, that there be no temptation. This list is not permission but the measure of mercy. It answers not the question “what may I do?” but the question of the man who has already done the irreparable and sees no way out for himself.
All such places in the śāstras are written for such people.