Vivekachudamani
by Shankara | 1921 | 49,785 words | ISBN-13: 9788175051065
The Vivekachudamani is a collection of poetical couplets authored by Shankara around the eighth century. The philosophical school this compilation attempts to expose is called ‘Advaita Vedanta’, or non-dualism, one of the classical orthodox philosophies of Hinduism. The book teaches Viveka: discrimination between the real and the unreal. Shankara d...
Verse 78
विषयाशामहापाशाद्यो विमुक्तः सुदुस्त्यजात् ।
स एव कल्पते मुक्त्यै नान्यः षट्शास्त्रवेद्यपि ॥ ७८ ॥viṣayāśāmahāpāśādyo vimuktaḥ sudustyajāt |
sa eva kalpate muktyai nānyaḥ ṣaṭśāstravedyapi || 78 ||78. He who is free from the terrible fetters of the hankering for the sense-objects, so very difficult to get rid of, is alone fit for Liberation, and none else – even though he be versed in all the six Śastras.
Notes:
[Six Shastras.—The six schools of Indian philosophy are meant. Mere book-learning without the heart’s yearning for emancipation will not produce any effect.]