उपनिषद् · Parabrahma 11
॥
देवनागरी
नाभ्यादिब्रह्मरन्ध्रान्तप्रमाणं धारयेत्सुधीः । तेभिर्धार्यमिदं सूत्रं क्रियाङ्गं तन्तुनिर्मितम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
nābhyādibrahmarandhrāntapramāṇaṃ dhārayetsudhīḥ | tebhirdhāryamidaṃ sūtraṃ kriyāṅgaṃ tantunirmitam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
नाभि-आदि-ब्रह्म-रन्ध्र-अन्तम्nābhi-ādi-brahma-randhra-antamfrom the navel, and so on, to the brahma-randhra
प्रमाणं धारयेत् सु-धीःpramāṇaṃ dhārayet su-dhīḥlet the wise one wear the measure
तेभिः धार्यम् इदं सूत्रंtebhiḥ dhāryam idaṃ sūtraṃby them too is this thread worn
क्रिया-अङ्गं तन्तु-निर्मितम्kriyā-aṅgaṃ tantu-nirmitama part of the rite, made of threads
अनुवाद
From the navel and to the brahma-randhra — such is the measure; let the wise one wear it; by them too is this thread worn — a part of the rite, made of threads.
संस्करण
3c53207a2f29 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The measure of the inner thread is named: from the navel to the brahma-randhra, "the aperture of brahman" at the crown. Note that these are the very two points between which, in yogic literature, runs the suṣumnā, the central path; and the exit through the crown was discussed when reading the Kuṇḍikā (21). More significant is the second half of the line: tebhir dhāryam idaṃ sūtram, "by them too is this thread worn." That is, the same ones who wear the inner one also wear the outer — "a part of the rite, made of threads."
This qualification matters and balances everything said before. The book, which so many times commanded the removal of the outer thread, here says at once that those who wear the inner also wear it. There is no contradiction, I think: the thread is removed upon renunciation, and before renunciation both are worn; and the next line (14) will say this directly and with full definiteness. So all the harshness of the earlier passages is softened: it spoke of the yati, "ascetic," not of every reader.
The Vaiṣṇava reading holds to exactly this order: as long as you live in a house — wear both; on renouncing — remove the outer before witnesses and at the teacher's word. No third case, in which the mark is removed on one's own authority, is provided for by the book.