उपनिषद् · Varāha 2.78
॥
देवनागरी
रसस्य मनसश्चैव चञ्चलत्वं स्वभावतः । रसो बद्धो मनो बद्धं किं न सिद्ध्यति भूतले
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
rasasya manasaścaiva cañcalatvaṃ svabhāvataḥ | raso baddho mano baddhaṃ kiṃ na siddhyati bhūtale
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
रसस्य मनसः च एवrasasya manasaḥ ca evaof mercury and of the mind, likewise
चञ्चलत्वं स्व-भावतःcañcalatvaṃ sva-bhāvataḥrestlessness is by nature
रसः बद्धः मनः बद्धंrasaḥ baddhaḥ manaḥ baddhaṃmercury bound, mind bound
किं न सिद्ध्यति भू-तलेkiṃ na siddhyati bhū-talewhat will not succeed on earth?
अनुवाद
"Of mercury and of the mind alike, restlessness is by nature; mercury bound, mind bound — what will not succeed on earth?"
संस्करण
176469f7160a · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here the book unexpectedly turns to alchemy, and it deserves noting, for the subject has not appeared before. The word rasa means both "taste" and "sap," and — in this usage — mercury; and the science of it is called rasa-shastra, "the science of mercury," or rasa-ayana, "the path of mercury." This practice was developed in India and interwoven with yoga: mercury was held the seed of Shiva, and working with it was thought akin to working with the mind.
The comparison given here rests on this kinship: mercury and mind are equally restless, and both are "bound." The word baddha, "bound," is technical among alchemists and means the fixing of mercury: its transformation from fluid to solid. Let us say plainly what deserves saying of this.
Alchemy as a craft does not concern us; but the comparison itself is precise, and deserves noting. Mercury is remarkable for being a metal that flows: it does not hold a shape, and every attempt to take it by hand ends with it scattering into little balls. The mind is likewise; and anyone who has tried to gather it recognizes this description.
The Vaishnava side does not practice alchemy and does not write of it; but the comparison with mercury appears in it with the same meaning, and the conclusion drawn is the one we have drawn more than once: what scatters is not gathered by force, but by giving it one place it is drawn to of itself.