Stories

# नास्त्यूर्ध्व सूक्तम् — The Nāstyūrdhva Sūkta

### An Expanded Monologue

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## I. The Opening — The Groundless Absolute

यथा गोप्तुर्न गोप्तास्ति यथोदधेर्न सागरः ।
यथा धात्र्या न चाधारो यथा भानोर्न भासकः ॥१॥

तथाहम्ब्रह्मबुद्धस्य नान्यच्छरणमीश्वरः ।
नान्यस्तापो न वा भासो न सन्नासदुतोर्ध्वतः ॥२॥

*Yathā gopturna goptāsti yathodadherna sāgaraḥ |
Yathā dhātryā na cādhāro yathā bhānorna bhāsakaḥ ||1||*

*Tathāhambrahmabuddhasya nānyac charaṇam īśvaraḥ |
Nānyas tāpo na vā bhāso na san nāsad utordhvataḥ ||2||*

Just as the Protector has no protector, just as the Ocean has no ocean,
Just as the Earth has nothing holding it up, just as the Sun has no one to light it—

So too, for the one awakened to *'I am Brahman,'*
There is no other Refuge, no other Lord.
There is no other warmth, no other light.
There is nothing—not even nothing—above.

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## II. The Unbearable Truth — The Śākya Prince and the Hermit

विरला ये सहन्तेऽस्य परमस्य तथ्यताम् ।
केचिद्भ्राम्यन्ति मन्दात्मा दुर्बलाः क्लिश्यन्ति च ॥३॥

शाक्यपुत्रो यथा भ्रान्तः सदेकं यन्निषेधति ।
पुनर्जन्मादि दुःखं च जीवभ्रान्तिं च सेवते ॥४॥

मायया निर्मितान्भावान् मुनिभिस्तत्त्वबोधने ।
सत्यं मत्वा ग्रहीतुं यः मूलमेव तिरस्कृतम् ॥५॥

अपरे श्रुतमात्रेण पुरुषार्थान्परित्यजन् ।
तापसा वनवासिन्यो भवन्ति विपरीतधीः ॥६॥

न जानन्ति यदेतत्तु सत्यं मोचयतीति न ।
किन्तु विश्वस्य सर्वस्य भारं त्वयि निधापयेत् ॥७॥

*Viralā ye sahante'sya paramasya tathyatām |
Kecid bhrāmyanti mandātmā durbalāḥ kliśyanti ca ||3||*

*Śākyaputro yathā bhrāntaḥ sad ekaṁ yan niṣedhati |
Punarjanmādi duḥkhaṁ ca jīvabhrāntiṁ ca sevate ||4||*

*Māyayā nirmitān bhāvān munibhis tattvabodhane |
Satyaṁ matvā grahītuṁ yaḥ mūlam eva tiraskṛtam ||5||*

*Apare śrutamātreṇa puruṣārthān parityajan |
Tāpasā vanavāsinyo bhavanti viparītadhīḥ ||6||*

*Na jānanti yad etat tu satyaṁ mocayatīti na |
Kintu viśvasya sarvasya bhāraṁ tvayi nidhāpayet ||7||*

Few are those who can bear the weight of this ultimate truth.
Some are driven to madness, the weak are crushed by it.

As the Śākya prince, gone mad—denied the One Thing which exists,
while clinging to rebirth, to *duḥkha*, to the phantom of the *jīva*—

Concepts forged of *māyā* by the sages to illumine truth,
he mistook the pointing finger for the moon, and cast the root aside.

Others, upon merely hearing it, forsake their *puruṣārtha*,
becoming hermits and forest-dwellers—their understanding inverted—

Not knowing that this truth does not set you free from duty,
but places the burden of the entire universe upon you.

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## III. The Question Inverted

पराधीना वदन्त्येवं विदेशीदेवसेवकाः ।
"ईश्वरश्चेत्कुतः पापं लोके दुःखं कुतः स्थितम्" ॥८॥

ब्रह्मवित्तु तथा पृच्छेदात्मवाक्यं विपर्ययम् ।
"अहं चेत्कुतः पापं लोके दुःखं कुतः स्थितम्" ॥९॥

*Parādhīnā vadanty evaṁ videśīdevasevakāḥ |
"Īśvaraś cet kutaḥ pāpaṁ loke duḥkhaṁ kutaḥ sthitam" ||8||*

*Brahmavit tu tathā pṛcched ātmavākyaṁ viparyayam |
"Ahaṁ cet kutaḥ pāpaṁ loke duḥkhaṁ kutaḥ sthitam" ||9||*

The followers of foreign gods, bound to an other, cry out thus:
*"If God exists, why is there evil in the world? Why does suffering persist?"*

But one who knows Brahman must ask the very same, inverted upon the Self:
*"If I exist, why is there evil in the world? Why does suffering persist?"*

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## IV. The Warning — Is It Mokṣa You Seek?

सत्यमेव वचस्ते हि "सत्यं मोक्षाय नेष्यति" ।
किन्तु मोक्षं किमिच्छस्त्वं वत्स चिन्तय सादरम् ॥१०॥

सर्वकामप्रपूर्त्यर्थं प्रयतस्व यदर्थतः ।
सुन्दरीभोगसौख्यार्थं भजस्व विषयान्यथा कामतः ।
यज्ञकर्मफलार्थं च चर मार्गं यथा धर्मतः ॥११॥

*Satyam eva vacas te hi "satyaṁ mokṣāya neṣyati" |
Kintu mokṣaṁ kim icchastvaṁ vatsa cintaya sādaram ||10||*

*Sarvakāmaprapūrtyarthaṁ prayatasva yad arthataḥ |
Sundarībhogasaukhyārthaṁ bhajasva viṣayān yathā kāmataḥ |
Yajñakarmaphalārthaṁ ca cara mārgaṁ yathā dharmataḥ ||11||*

True indeed is your word, dear one: *"The truth shall lead to mokṣa."*
But is it *mokṣa* you desire? Reflect upon this carefully, my child.

Strive to fulfil all desires—that is **Artha**.
Enjoy the pleasures of beautiful women—that is **Kāma**.
Walk the path of ritual and righteous deeds—that is **Dharma**.

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## V. The Student's Retort

"कस्मात्" इति वदेच्छिष्यः "पुरुषार्थान्न साधये ।
सत्यं ज्ञात्वा परं ब्रह्म किं मे हानिर्भविष्यति" ॥१२॥

"त्वमेव गुरवर्याणां गोसहस्राणि कञ्चनैः ।
अलंकृतानि भुञ्जानः पुत्रशतं त्वयोद्भवम् ॥१३॥

पत्नीभ्यः सम्भवं पुण्यं न च धर्मात्कदाच्युतः ।
सर्वे मुनयो ब्रह्मविदो वदन्त्येतान्परमार्थतः ॥१४॥

एतेषु यो हीनो नरः स क्लीब इति कथ्यते" ॥१५॥

*"Kasmāt" iti vadec chiṣyaḥ "puruṣārthān na sādhaye |
Satyaṁ jñātvā paraṁ brahma kiṁ me hānir bhaviṣyati" ||12||*

*"Tvam eva guravaryyāṇāṁ gosahasrāṇi kañcanaiḥ |
Alaṁkṛtāni bhuñjānaḥ putraśataṁ tvayodbhavam ||13||*

*Patnībhyaḥ sambhavaṁ puṇyaṁ na ca dharmāt kadācyutaḥ |
Sarve munayo brahmavido vadanty etān paramārthataḥ ||14||*

*Eteṣu yo hīno naraḥ sa klība iti kathyate" ||15||*

*"Why,"* asks the student, *"should I not pursue the other puruṣārtha?
Knowing the supreme Brahman—what loss could befall me?*

*You yourself, O best of teachers, possess thousands of cattle adorned in gold,
and have sired a hundred sons, born of your honourable wives.*

*Never once have you strayed from the path of Dharma.
All the great sages, knowers of Brahman, declare these the supreme goals of life—*

*And he who is lacking in them is called a* ***eunuch.***"

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## VI. The Teacher's Answer — You Will Have Nothing

अवश्यमेव प्राप्स्यसि एतत्सर्वं ततोऽधिकम् ।
किन्तु शृणु वचो मे त्वं यद्वक्ष्यामि सुनिश्चितम् ॥१६॥

**सर्वं वित्तं स्त्रियश्चैव लब्ध्वा** कोटिश्च मेधिनाम् ।
अश्वमेधान्विधायापि **पुत्रसहस्रजन्मना** ।
पितॄणामृणमुक्तोऽपि **न ते किञ्चित्प्रसिध्यति** ॥१७॥

**नान्यत्किञ्चन विद्येत त्वदन्यदात्मनः परम्** ।
केवलं स्वात्ममात्रं ते शेषं सर्वं विलीयते ॥१८॥

दिव्याम्बरैः समावृत्तो दिगम्बर इवात्मनि ।
ऐन्द्रादपि महत्प्रासादवासी तापसो यथा ॥१९॥

बन्धूनां मध्यगोऽप्येवम् अनाथो बन्धवर्जितः ।
सम्बन्धहीन एकाकी स्वयमेव स्वयं सदा ॥२०॥

*Avaśyam eva prāpsyasi etat sarvaṁ tato'dhikam |
Kintu śṛṇu vaco me tvaṁ yad vakṣyāmi suniścitam ||16||*

***Sarvaṁ vittaṁ striyaś caiva labdhvā** koṭiś ca medhinām |
Aśvamedhān vidhāyāpi **putrasahasrajanmanā** |
Pitṝṇām ṛṇamukto'pi **na te kiñcit prasidhyati** ||17||*

***Nānyat kiñcana vidyeta tvadanyad ātmanaḥ param** |
Kevalaṁ svātmamātraṁ te śeṣaṁ sarvaṁ vilīyate ||18||*

*Divyāmbaraiḥ samāvṛtto digambara ivātmani |
Aindrād api mahatprāsādavāsī tāpaso yathā ||19||*

*Bandhūnāṁ madhyago'py evam anātho bandhavarjitaḥ |
Sambandhahīna ekākī svayam eva svayaṁ sadā ||20||*

Undoubtedly you will attain all this, and more besides.
But hear my words, and mark them well, for what I say is certain:

**Even possessing all the wealth and women in the world,**
even having performed a *crore* of *aśvamedhas,*
**even having sired a thousand sons** to discharge the debt unto your forefathers—
**you will have nothing.** Nothing at all but yourself.

**Nothing else shall remain; nothing beyond your own Self.**
Only the bare Self is yours; all else dissolves.

Clad in the most exquisite garments, you will feel *digambara*—naked, sky-clad.
Dwelling in a palace surpassing even Indra's, you will feel a wandering ascetic.

Standing in the midst of your kinsmen, you will remain *anātha*—
without refuge, without relation, without bond—
alone with yourself, forever yourself, always.

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## VII. The Inversion of Will

अल्पबुद्धय एवं हि पृच्छन्ति "किमहं स्वतन्त्रः" ।
बोधे तु ज्ञास्यसे सत्यं "सर्वं विश्वे मदिच्छया" ॥२१॥

*Alpabuddhaya evaṁ hi pṛcchanti "kim ahaṁ svatantraḥ" |
Bodhe tu jñāsyase satyaṁ "sarvaṁ viśve madicchayā" ||21||*

Those of lesser intellect ask: *"Do I possess free will?"*
But upon enlightenment, you will know: *"All that happens in the universe is my will."*

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## VIII. The Refrain — Na San Nāsad Utordhvataḥ

नान्यच्छरणमन्यद्वा ज्योतिर्नान्यः स्वयं विना ।
दोषारोपाय नान्यः स्यात् — **न सन्नासदुतोर्ध्वतः** ॥२२॥

नान्यो नाथो न चेश्वरो न प्रभुस्त्वद्विना क्वचित् ।
स्वेच्छामात्रं ततः सर्वम् — **न सन्नासदुतोर्ध्वतः** ॥२३॥

*Nānyac charaṇam anyad vā jyotir nānyaḥ svayaṁ vinā |
Doṣāropāya nānyaḥ syāt — **na san nāsad utordhvataḥ** ||22||*

*Nānyo nātho na ceśvaro na prabhus tvadvinā kvacit |
Svecchāmātraṁ tataḥ sarvam — **na san nāsad utordhvataḥ** ||23||*

No other refuge, no other light, nobody to blame but yourself—
***na san nāsad utordhvataḥ*** — nothing, not even nothing, above.

No other lord, no other master, nothing but your own free will—
***na san nāsad utordhvataḥ*** — nothing, not even nothing, above.

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## IX. The Colophon

इति विश्वपतेः स्वात्मसंवादः परिसमाप्यते ।

*Iti viśvapateḥ svātmasaṁvādaḥ parisamāpyate.*

Thus concludes the conversation of the Lord of the Universe with Himself.

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*॥ इति नास्त्यूर्ध्वसूक्तं सम्पूर्णम् ॥*

*|| Iti Nāstyūrdhvasūktaṁ sampūrṇam ||*