उपनिषद् · Yājñavalkya 3
॥
देवनागरी
नामादिभ्यः परे भूम्नि स्वाराज्ये चेत्स्थितोऽद्वथे । प्रणमेत्कं तदात्मज्ञो न कार्यं कर्मणा तदा
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
nāmādibhyaḥ pare bhūmni svārājye cetsthito'dvathe | praṇametkaṃ tadātmajño na kāryaṃ karmaṇā tadā
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
नाम-आदिभ्यः परे भूम्निnāma-ādibhyaḥ pare bhūmnihigher than name and the rest, in fullness
स्वाराज्ये चेत् स्थितः अ-द्वयेsvārājye cet sthitaḥ a-dvayeif established in self-sovereignty, non-dual
प्रणमेत् कं तदा आत्म-ज्ञःpraṇamet kaṃ tadā ātma-jñaḥto whom then would the knower of the self bow
न कार्यं कर्मणा तदाna kāryaṃ karmaṇā tadāand there is then no need for action
अनुवाद
If he is established higher than name and the rest, in fullness, in non-dual self-sovereignty — to whom then would the knower of the self bow? And there is then no need for action.
संस्करण
efa6f6483980 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The line is an objection to the first: if a person is established in the non-dual, there is no one to bow to. It is worth examining the argument, for it is consistent and therefore instructive. Bowing requires two. One established in the non-dual sees no two. Therefore, bowing is impossible for him.
The argument is valid — and here is where it becomes clear what this teaching leads to if carried to its conclusion. It cancels reverence. The Vaiṣṇava side builds her chief objection on precisely this, and it is worth voicing directly, for it is not abstract.
Every teaching is tested by what follows from it in practice. From the teaching of non-duality it follows that there is nothing and no one to bow to, serve, or thank; and the next line of this very book is not a consequence but a correction. Let us add what is worth noting in the word svārājya, "self-sovereignty," literally "one's own kingdom."
This word is a term of praise in the upaniṣads and means independence. But it is worth noting how it ends: a self-sovereign has no one above him and no one beside him; and his solitude is a consequence not of circumstance but of position. Hence the Vaiṣṇava side prefers the word "service" to "self-sovereignty": a servant has one whom he serves, and so he is not alone.