उपदेशसाहस्री (आदि शङ्कराचार्य - गद्य व पद्य भाग)

बुद्धयपराधप्रकरणम् ॥ ५ ॥ CHAPTER V ERROR IN UNDERSTANDING मूत्राशङ्को यथोदङ्को नाग्रहीदमृतं यथा । कर्मनाशभयाज्जन्तोरात्मज्ञानाग्रहस्तथा ॥ १ ॥

1. People do not receive Self-knowledge on ac- count of the fear that their duties (according to their castes and orders of life) would be destroyed like Udanka ¹ who did not accept (genuine) nectar which, he thought, was urine. [That people do not like to receive Self-knowledge is due to their ignorance of the real nature of the Self and a wrong and false conception about It.] बुद्धिस्थश्चलतीवात्मा ध्यायतीव च दृश्यते । नौगतस्य यथा वृक्षास्तद्वत्संसारविभ्रमः ॥ २ ॥ ¹ This man practised much austerity in order to please Vishnu so that he might get nectar from him. Vishnu was pleased and sent Indra with a pot full of nectar to give it to Udanka. Indra wanted to deceive him and in the guise of a Chandâla he hung the pot containing nectar from his waist. The pot was hanging in such a way that urine would fall into it if Indra were to make water. When he appeared before Udanka in that fashion and offered him the nectar the latter thought the pot contained urine and refused to accept the nectar.