उपनिषद् · Jābāladarśana 1.15
॥
देवनागरी
स्वात्मवत्सर्वभूतेषु कायेन मनसा गिरा । अनुज्ञा या दया सैव प्रोक्ता वेदान्तवेदिभिः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
svātmavatsarvabhūteṣu kāyena manasā girā | anujñā yā dayā saiva proktā vedāntavedibhiḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
स्व-आत्म-वत् सर्व-भूतेषुsva-ātma-vat sarva-bhūteṣuas to one's own self, toward all beings
कायेन मनसा गिराkāyena manasā girāby body, mind, and speech
अनुज्ञा या दया सा एवanujñā yā dayā sā evawhat recognition — that indeed is mercy
प्रोक्ता वेदान्त-वेदिभिःproktā vedānta-vedibhiḥnamed [so] by knowers of Vedanta
अनुवाद
"Recognition toward all beings, as to one's own self, — by body, mind, and speech, — that indeed is mercy, named [so] by knowers of Vedanta."
संस्करण
3b5bef1ebfc5 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Mercy is defined by the word sva-atma-vat, "as to one's own self," and this is, in my view, the best definition possible for it. This rule is known to every tradition in various forms, and in the Mahabharata it is stated with complete clarity: "what you would not wish for yourself, do not do to another; this is the whole law, the rest is commentary" (Anushasana-parva 113.8). The word anujna, by which the act itself is named here, deserves examination. It means "assent, recognition, permission"; from anu-jna, "to acknowledge in turn."
That is, mercy is defined not as pity and not as help, but as recognizing in another what one recognizes in oneself. This nuance matters and deserves noting. Pity looks down and easily coexists with contempt; recognition looks level. One can help without recognizing; to recognize means to agree that the one you help wants what you want, and by the same right.
The Vaishnava side gives this a ground not sentimental but direct: all beings are fragments of one and the same — mamaivamsho jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah, "My own eternal fragment, become a living being in the world of the living" (Gita 15.7). The consequence goes beyond the rule of reciprocity, and the Gita states it plainly: "upon the learned brahmin, upon the cow, upon the elephant, upon the dog, and upon the dog-eater, the wise look equally" (5.18). The list is deliberately constructed to include both the honored and the despised; and the measure "as to oneself" is extended to all without exception.