उपनिषद् · Kṛṣṇa 2.12
॥
देवनागरी
स एष मुमुक्षुभिर्ध्येयः । स एष मोक्षप्रदः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sa eṣa mumukṣubhirdhyeyaḥ | sa eṣa mokṣapradaḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सः एषः मुमुक्षुभिः ध्येयःsaḥ eṣaḥ mumukṣubhiḥ dhyeyaḥhe is contemplated by those who desire freedom
सः एषः मोक्ष-प्रदःsaḥ eṣaḥ mokṣa-pradaḥhe is the giver of liberation
अनुवाद
"He is contemplated by those who desire freedom; he is the giver of liberation."
संस्करण
5b46d647c8d3 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Two definitions, and the second is worth examining: mokṣa-prada, "giver of liberation." The word prada, "giver," from pra-dā; and it places liberation in the category of gifts, not attainments. This distinction runs through all the books we have read and has every time proved decisive; there is no need to repeat the arguments.
Let us add here what we have not yet said and what pertains precisely to the word "giver." If liberation is given, it has conditions of reception, not conditions of merit. The distinction between these two kinds of conditions is great and worth voicing.
A condition of merit is what is earned: so much austerity, so much knowledge. A condition of reception is what a gift cannot enter without: an outstretched hand, an open door, consent to accept. The Vaiṣṇava side lists her conditions, and all of them are of the second kind. Śaraṇāgati, "self-surrender," consists of six: to accept what is favorable, to reject what is unfavorable, to believe in [His] protection, to acknowledge Him as protector, to give oneself over, to acknowledge one's own helplessness.
It is worth noting that the last — kārpaṇya, "acknowledgment of one's own helplessness" — is a condition directly opposite to merit. That is, among the list of conditions stands the absence of achievements; and this is possible only where the matter is a gift.