उपनिषद् · Yājñavalkya 10
॥
देवनागरी
ज्वलना अतिदूरेऽपि सरसा अपि नीरसाः । स्त्रियो हि नरकाग्नीनामिन्धनं चारु दारुणम्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
jvalanā atidūre'pi sarasā api nīrasāḥ | striyo hi narakāgnīnāmindhanaṃ cāru dāruṇam
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
ज्वलनाः अति-दूरे अपिjvalanāḥ ati-dūre apiburning, even from afar
सरसाः अपि नीरसाःsarasāḥ api nīrasāḥjuicy, yet flavorless
स्त्रियः हि नरक-अग्नीनाम्striyaḥ hi naraka-agnīnāmwomen, of the fires of hell
इन्धनं चारु दारुणम्indhanaṃ cāru dāruṇamthe kindling, beautiful and dreadful
अनुवाद
Burning even from afar, juicy yet flavorless — women are the kindling of the fires of hell, beautiful and dreadful.
संस्करण
d0c012736253 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
It is worth noting the phrase cāru dāruṇam, "beautiful and dreadful," for in it alone the whole structure of this section shows itself. The speaker does not deny the beauty: he calls it beautiful and immediately dreadful. That is, before us is not a person who does not see beauty, but a person tormented by it.
This, to my mind, is the actual content of all ten verses, and it is worth voicing, for it changes one's attitude toward them. These verses are written not from a height, but out of a struggle. They are written by one for whom it is hard; and all their harshness is the harshness of a man talking himself into something.
Read this way, they stop being a teaching about women and become a record of a state; and as such they are honest, though they remain unfit as a teaching. Let us add that these two readings can be distinguished by one mark: to whom it is addressed. If to oneself — it is the diary of one struggling, and there is nothing to condemn in it.
If to others, as here — it is already a teaching; and this teaching is harmful, for it transmits not a technique but an attitude. The Vaiṣṇava side, in such cases, distinguishes sādhana and upadeśa, "a means" and "an instruction." A means is chosen for the person and can be harsh; an instruction is addressed to all and must therefore be sound.
That a personal means is recorded here as a general instruction is, to my mind, the whole trouble with this section.