Paingala Upanishad 21 — Verse 21

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तपेद् वर्षसहस्राणि एकपादस्थितो नरः । एतस्य ध्यानयोगस्य कलां नार्हति षोडशीम् ॥२१॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तपेत् । वर्ष-सहस्राणि । एक-पाद-स्थितः । नरः । एतस्य । ध्यान-योगस्य । कलाम् । न । अर्हति । षोडशीम् ॥२१॥

IAST Transliteration

tapet varṣasahasrāṇi ekapādasthito naraḥ | etasya dhyānayogasya kalāṃ nārhati ṣoḍaśīm ||21||

Translation

नरः एकपादस्थितः वर्षसहस्राणि तपः कुर्यात्; तथापि एतस्य ध्यानयोगस्य षोडशीं कलामपि नार्हति॥

Academic Translation

A man may practice austerity for thousands of years, standing on one foot; [yet] he does not merit even a sixteenth part of this yoga of meditation.

Verse Context

• Dhyāna/Nididhyāsana as superior means toward jñāna; critique of mere tapas without liberating insight
• Mahavakya: Indirect: emphasizes the primacy of contemplative assimilation leading to the realization expressed by the Mahāvākyas, rather than external austerities.
• Atharva
• Atharva-veda (Paippalāda tradition; commonly grouped among Atharvaṇic Sannyāsa Upaniṣads) Shakha
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (śloka)