उपनिषद् · Rudrākṣajābāla 1.19
॥
देवनागरी
केयूरकटके सूत्रं कुक्षिबन्धे विशेषतः । सुप्ते पीते सदाकालं रुद्राक्षं धारयेन्नरः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
keyūrakaṭake sūtraṃ kukṣibandhe viśeṣataḥ | supte pīte sadākālaṃ rudrākṣaṃ dhārayennaraḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
केयूर-कटके सूत्रंkeyūra-kaṭake sūtraṃon the armlet and bracelet, a thread
कुक्षि-बन्धे विशेषतःkukṣi-bandhe viśeṣataḥespecially on the waist-band
सुप्ते पीते सदा-कालंsupte pīte sadā-kālaṃasleep, having drunk, at all times
रुद्राक्षं धारयेत् नरःrudrākṣaṃ dhārayet naraḥlet a man wear the rudrākṣa
अनुवाद
On the armlet and bracelet, a thread; especially on the waist-band. Asleep, having drunk, at all times, let a man wear the rudrākṣa.
संस्करण
a8a3a05ecc05 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here is a rule worth singling out: supte pīte sadā-kālam, "asleep, having drunk, at all times." To understand why this is said, one must know what is done in such circumstances with the sacred cord. It is shifted, removed, or set aside — while eating, while relieving oneself, in impurity; a whole section of the statutory books is devoted to when the cord "does not work."
Here the opposite is said: never remove it. This difference is no small thing. A sign that is removed when a person is impure is a sign of condition: it testifies that all is currently in order. A sign never removed is a sign of belonging: it testifies whose you are, not what state you are in at the moment.
The second, to my mind, is both truer and more humane. Everyone's condition is changeable: a person sleeps, eats, falls ill, is not himself; and if his belonging to God depended on condition, it would be interrupted several times a day. The Vaiṣṇava side stands firmly on this and says the same regarding the Name. The Bhāgavatam asserts that the Name works even when uttered "in jest, to denote something else, in a song, or carelessly" — saṅketyaṃ pārihāsyaṃ vā stobhaṃ helanam eva vā (6.2.14); and the whole story of Ajāmila is an illustration of this.
The consequence is simple and comforting. One who is accepted is accepted even asleep; and a fall in condition does not cancel belonging — it only makes belonging bitter for the fallen one himself.