उपनिषद् · Yājñavalkya 18
॥
देवनागरी
न पाणिपादचपलो न नेत्रचपलो यतिः । न च वाक्चपलश्चैव ब्रह्मभूतो जितेन्द्रियः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
na pāṇipādacapalo na netracapalo yatiḥ | na ca vākcapalaścaiva brahmabhūto jitendriyaḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
न पाणि-पाद-चपलःna pāṇi-pāda-capalaḥnot restless in hands and feet
न नेत्र-चपलः यतिःna netra-capalaḥ yatiḥnot restless in the eyes — the ascetic
न च वाक्-चपलः च एवna ca vāk-capalaḥ ca evaand not restless in speech as well
ब्रह्म-भूतः जित-इन्द्रियःbrahma-bhūtaḥ jita-indriyaḥhaving become brahman, having conquered the senses
अनुवाद
Not restless in hands and feet, not restless in the eyes — the ascetic — and not restless in speech either — having become brahman, having conquered the senses.
संस्करण
bdeba2cad923 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The section on hardships has ended, and the book returns to the matter at hand; and the very first verse is, to my mind, the finest of the practical ones in the whole series. Four things are listed: not restless in hands and feet, in the eyes, in speech; and the consequence — brahma-bhūtaḥ. The word capala means "restless, flickering, unsteady"; and it is applied to three fields.
It is worth noting how verifiable this definition is. No one, not even the person himself, knows his inner state; but restlessness of hands, eyes, and tongue is visible to everyone — and, more importantly, visible to the person himself. Hence this sign works as a measure, while most others do not.
Let us add what stands behind the list in substance. Restlessness of the hands is the inability to do nothing. Restlessness of the eyes is the inability not to look. Restlessness of speech is the inability to keep silent.
All three are one vice in three forms: the inability to stop. The Vaiṣṇava side accepts this list and has her own corresponding word: prayāsa, "excessive effort," and prajalpa, "idle talk," are counted among her six hindrances (Upadeśāmṛta 2). It is worth noting that prajalpa is there named apart from the rest and means precisely restlessness of speech: not lies, not abuse, but talk about nothing.
And it is called, in her books, the most dangerous of the six, for it alone is not considered a vice and so meets no resistance.