उपनिषद् · Varāha 4.36
॥
देवनागरी
शुकश्च वामदेवश्च द्वे सृती देवनिर्मिते । शुकः विहङ्गमः प्रोक्तो वामदेवः पिपीलिका
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
śukaśca vāmadevaśca dve sṛtī devanirmite | śukaḥ vihaṅgamaḥ prokto vāmadevaḥ pipīlikā
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
शुकः च वाम-देवः चśukaḥ ca vāma-devaḥ caShuka and Vamadeva
द्वे सृती देव-निर्मितेdve sṛtī deva-nirmitetwo paths, made by god
शुकः विहङ्गमः प्रोक्तःśukaḥ vihaṅgamaḥ proktaḥShuka is called the bird-path
वाम-देवः पिपीलिकाvāma-devaḥ pipīlikāVamadeva, the ant
अनुवाद
"Shuka and Vamadeva — two paths, made by god: Shuka is called the bird-path, Vamadeva the ant."
संस्करण
cfd7083cc271 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here are two epithets worth remembering: vihangama-marga, "the path of the bird," and pipilika-marga, "the path of the ant." The comparison is excellent and explains itself. A bird flies over: it does not touch what lies between the start and the end.
An ant crawls: it covers every span and goes around every pebble. Worth noting is that both are called deva-nirmite, "made by god"; that is, neither is an invention, and neither is worse. Let us add what is implicit in the comparison, and deserves saying, for it is beloved and often cited carelessly.
One cannot become a bird: one is either born a bird, or not. That is, the bird's path is not a method one can choose; and anyone who declares he will take the bird's path thereby reveals that he reasons as an ant. The Vaishnava side stresses exactly this: the swift path is not chosen, but given; and hence it speaks of itself in the language of the ant, and of what occurs, in the language of grace.
Let us add that, in its tradition, the ant's path is not at all a matter of humiliation. The six Gosvamis, discussed more than once, walked exactly this way: they went on foot, slept under various trees, wrote books for many years. That is, outwardly their path is the ant's path; and the speed the verse speaks of pertains not to the manner of life, but to the fact that the heart is already occupied.