उपनिषद् · Parabrahma 1.13
॥
देवनागरी
सत्त्वमथास्य पुरुषस्यान्तः शिखोपवीतत्वं ब्राह्मणस्य । मुमुक्षोरन्तः शिखोपवीतधारणम् । बहिर्लक्ष्यमाणशिखायज्ञोपवीतधारणं कर्मिणो गृहस्थस्य । अन्तरुपवीतलक्षणं तु बहिस्तन्तुवदव्यक्तमन्तस्तत्त्वमेलनम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sattvamathāsya puruṣasyāntaḥ śikhopavītatvaṃ brāhmaṇasya | mumukṣorantaḥ śikhopavītadhāraṇam | bahirlakṣyamāṇaśikhāyajñopavītadhāraṇaṃ karmiṇo gṛhasthasya | antarupavītalakṣaṇaṃ tu bahistantuvadavyaktamantastattvamelanam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सत्त्वम् अथ अस्य पुरुषस्य अन्तःsattvam atha asya puruṣasya antaḥclarity, moreover, of this puruṣa, within
शिखा-उपवीत-त्वं ब्राह्मणस्यśikhā-upavīta-tvaṃ brāhmaṇasyathe tuft and cord of the brahmin
मुमुक्षोः अन्तः शिखा-उपवीत-धारणम्mumukṣoḥ antaḥ śikhā-upavīta-dhāraṇamfor one desiring liberation — wearing them within
बहिः-लक्ष्यमाण-शिखा-यज्ञ-उपवीत-धारणंbahiḥ-lakṣyamāṇa-śikhā-yajña-upavīta-dhāraṇaṃwearing the visible outward tuft and thread
कर्मिणः गृहस्थस्यkarmiṇaḥ gṛhasthasyaof the active householder
अनुवाद
The inner tuft and cord — for a brahmin; for one desiring liberation — wearing the tuft and cord within; wearing the visible outward tuft and sacrificial thread — for the active householder.
संस्करण
8b518e386b5d · प्रकाशित 6 अग॰ 2026, 4:32:42 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here is the central subject of the whole book: śikhā and upavīta, "the tuft on the crown and the sacred thread" — and the distinction between one who wears them outwardly and one who wears them within. Look at the structure of the distinction: it is not by dignity, but by station. The householder who performs rites wears the visible ones; one seeking liberation wears the invisible ones. This is not "one is better than the other," but "one has one thing, the other has another."
This qualification matters, because further on the book will speak more sharply, and it must be remembered how it began: for the karmin, "the active one," the thread on the shoulder is his by right, and no one takes it from him. The Vaiṣṇava reading treats both stations with respect and warns against what happens most often. Whenever the inner thread is taught, people are found who remove the outer one before they have tied the inner; and they are left with neither. This was already discussed when reading the Pāśupata (1.9), and here I will repeat it briefly: the mark may be removed by one who has outgrown the thing, not by one who has grown tired of the duty.
These two cases are easy to distinguish. One who has outgrown his duties has more of them; one who has grown tired has fewer.