Niralamba Upanishad: Verse 27

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

केवलमोक्षापेक्षासङ्कल्पो बन्धः ॥२७॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

केवल-मोक्ष-अपेक्षा-सङ्कल्पः । बन्धः ॥२७॥

Recitation with translationNiralamba Upanishad 27

IAST Transliteration

kevala-mokṣāpekṣā-saṅkalpo bandhaḥ ॥27॥

Translation

बस मुक्ति पाने की इच्छा भी बंधन है। जब तुम कहते हो मैं मुक्त होना चाहता हूँ, तब भी तुम बँधे हुए हो।

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Academic Translation

Bondage is the volitional construction (saṅkalpa) that consists solely in the expectation/desire for liberation (mokṣa).

Word by Word

• kevala: mere/only
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kevala (विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (समासाङ्ग; mokṣāpekṣā-saṅkalpa-विशेषणम्)

• mokṣa: liberation
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (mokṣa-āpekṣā: ‘expectation of liberation’) (समासाङ्ग)

• āpekṣā: expectation/desire
• Type: Noun
• Root: āpekṣā (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (समासाङ्ग)

• saṅkalpa: volition/mental resolve
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṅkalpa (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (समस्तपदम्)

• bandhaḥ: bondage
• Type: Noun
• Root: bandha (पुं. प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Sandhi Notes

• kevala-mokṣāpekṣā-saṅkalpaḥ is a samāsa
• mokṣāpekṣā = mokṣa + āpekṣā with ā-sandhi (a + ā → ā). Final -o in saṅkalpo is external sandhi (saṅkalpaḥ + bandhaḥ → saṅkalpo bandhaḥ)

About this Verse

Central concept

Mokṣa as ever-attained (nitya-mukta) vs. desire-based seeking; subtle bandha through mokṣa-icchā

The mahavakyas

Directly supports Mahāvākya immediacy: ‘अहं ब्रह्मास्मि’ / ‘तत् त्वम् असि’ are not future attainments but present identity; desire-for-mokṣa is transcended in aparokṣa-jñāna (immediate knowledge).

Veda

Atharva

Chandas

Prose

Yoga and practice

Shift from goal-oriented striving to abidance (sthiti) in the witness; in nididhyāsana, notice the ‘seeker’ as a thought; cultivate vairāgya even toward spiritual attainments; allow desire for mokṣa to mature into clarity and then drop as knowledge stabilizes.