उपनिषद् · Mahā 3.19
॥
देवनागरी
क्रूरेण जडतां याता तृष्णाभार्यानुगामिना वशः कौलेयकेनेव ब्रह्मन्मुक्तोऽस्मि चेतसा
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
krūreṇa jaḍatāṃ yātā tṛṣṇābhāryānugāminā vaśaḥ kauleyakeneva brahmanmukto'smi cetasā
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
क्रूरेण जडताम् याताkrūreṇa jaḍatām yātāby the cruel one brought to stupefaction; by the savage one driven to a daze
तृष्णा-भार्या-अनुगामिनाtṛṣṇā-bhāryā-anugāmināthat follows after its wife — craving; that trails after its consort — thirst
वशः कौलेयकेन इवvaśaḥ kauleyakena ivain its power, as by a dog; at its mercy, as with a cur
ब्रह्मन् मुक्तः अस्मि चेतसाbrahman muktaḥ asmi cetasāO brāhmaṇa, shall I be freed of the mind; O brāhmaṇa, am I to be delivered from consciousness
अनुवाद
“By the cruel mind, which trails after its wife — craving, I am driven to a daze and held in its power, as by a dog. O brāhmaṇa, shall I be delivered from it?”
संस्करण
9729162d4699 · प्रकाशित 29 जुल॰ 2026, 6:29:20 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The image is unfolded: the mind is the dog, and craving is its wife, after whom it runs.
The word tṛṣṇā means “thirst, greed” — not the desire for something definite, but insatiability itself. From this verse it will be the chief theme for nearly a dozen lines.
The order in the harness matters: not the mind leads craving, but craving leads the mind. The mind only runs behind, wherever it is pulled.
That is why it is called krūra, “cruel”: not wicked by nature, but grown savage from the chase.
And the last half-verse is Nidāgha's first direct request to the teacher in the whole chapter. Till now he was setting out observations; here it broke out: “shall I be freed?”
Note that he asks deliverance not from craving, but from the mind itself.