उपनिषद् · Bhasmajābāla 1.17
॥
देवनागरी
तत्करपृष्ठे नमो हन्त्र इति अंसे शङ्करायेति यथाक्रमं भस्म धृत्वा सोमायेति शिवं नत्वा ततः प्रक्षाल्य तद्भस्मापः पुनन्त्विति पिबेत् । नाधो त्याज्यं नाधो त्याज्यम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
tatkarapṛṣṭhe namo hantra iti aṃse śaṅkarāyeti yathākramaṃ bhasma dhṛtvā somāyeti śivaṃ natvā tataḥ prakṣālya tadbhasmāpaḥ punantviti pibet | nādho tyājyaṃ nādho tyājyam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
तत्-कर-पृष्ठे नमः हन्त्रे इति अंसेtat-kara-pṛṣṭhe namaḥ hantre iti aṃseon the back of that hand; «bow to the Striker» — on the shoulder
शङ्कराय इति यथा-क्रमं भस्म धृत्वाśaṅkarāya iti yathā-kramaṃ bhasma dhṛtvā«to Śaṅkara», in order, having borne the ash
सोमाय इति शिवं नत्वाsomāya iti śivaṃ natvā«to Soma», having honored Śiva
तत्-भस्म आपः पुनन्तु इति पिबेत्tat-bhasma āpaḥ punantu iti pibetthat ash with «may the waters purify», let him drink
न अधः त्याज्यंna adhaḥ tyājyaṃit must not be thrown down
अनुवाद
«…on the back of that hand; «bow to the Striker» — on the shoulder; «to Śaṅkara» — having borne the ash in order; «to Soma» — having honored Śiva, then, having bathed, let him drink that ash with [the mantra] «may the waters purify». It must not be thrown down, it must not be thrown down».
संस्करण
d83208746633 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The rite ends with the remainder of the ash being drunk with water; and it is said twice: na adho tyājyam, «it must not be thrown down». This rule is worth unpacking, for it is a rule about handling what is consecrated and recurs in every tradition. What has been consecrated cannot be thrown on the ground and trodden underfoot. The remainder is either used, or set into flowing water, or placed beneath a tree — but not thrown underfoot.
This custom is the same in Vaishnava practice and is held strictly: what remains of an offering is not thrown away; the water from bathing the image is drunk; wilted garlands are not tossed onto the road. Worth noting the doubling: it is said twice in a row. On doubling in these books as a mark of insistence, see the discussion when reading Rudra-hṛdaya (17); and here it stands at a prohibition, that is, where the author fears he will not be obeyed.
Separately worth mentioning is the act itself — drinking ash. From outside it seems strange, even repellent; but in essence it is the same as partaking of consecrated food: taking into oneself what has been offered. The difference is only in the substance, and this difference is, to my mind, telling. There, food is taken in — what nourishes; here, ash — what remains from what was burnt. And this difference is, in essence, the whole difference between two ways of remembering God.