Paingala Upanishad 23 — Verse 23

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

विज्ञेयोऽक्षरतन्मात्रो जीवितं वापि चञ्चलम्। विहाय शास्त्रजालानि यत्सत्यं तदुपासताम्॥२३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

विज्ञेयः । अक्षर-तत्-मात्रः । जीवितम् । वा । अपि । चञ्चलम् । विहाय । शास्त्र-जालानि । यत् । सत्यम् । तत् । उपासताम् ॥२३॥

IAST Transliteration

vijñeyo 'kṣaratat-mātro jīvitaṃ vāpi cañcalam | vihāya śāstrajālāni yat satyaṃ tad upāsatām ||23||

Translation

അക്ഷരമായ ഏക പരതത്ത്വം മാത്രമേ അറിയേണ്ടത്; ജീവിതം നിശ്ചയമായും ചഞ്ചലം. ശാസ്ത്രജാലങ്ങൾ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച്, യത് സത്യമോ അതിനെ ഉപാസിക്കുവിൻ/ധ്യാനിക്കുവിൻ॥২৩॥

Academic Translation

One should know only that Imperishable (akṣara) alone; life indeed is unsteady. Abandoning the nets of scriptures, let them worship/meditate upon that which is the Real.

Verse Context

• Akṣara (Imperishable Brahman/Ātman); vairāgya; satya-upāsanā leading to jñāna
• Mahavakya: Indirect: ‘akṣara’ as Brahman aligns with mahāvākya import (identity of self and Brahman). The instruction to focus on the Imperishable supports realization of ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’/‘tat tvam asi’ as the essential knowledge.
• Atharva
• Atharva-veda (Paippalāda tradition; commonly transmitted as a Sannyāsa Upaniṣad corpus text) Shakha
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (śloka)