Sādhana Pañcakam — Forty Steps of Practice

Attributed to Ādi Śaṅkara; five verses (the closing phala-śruti verse is omitted)

वेदो नित्यमधीयतां तदुदितं कर्म स्वनुष्ठीयताम् तेनेशस्य विधीयतामपचितिः काम्ये मतिस्त्यज्यताम् । पापौघः परिधूयतां भवसुखे दोषोऽनुसन्धीयताम् आत्मेच्छा व्यवसीयतां निजगृहात्तूर्णं विनिर्गम्यताम् ॥१॥ सङ्गः सत्सु विधीयतां भगवतो भक्तिर्दृढाऽऽधीयताम् शान्त्यादिः परिचीयतां दृढतरं कर्माशु सन्त्यज्यताम् । सद्विद्वानुपसृप्यतां प्रतिदिनं तत्पादुका सेव्यताम् ब्रह्मैकाक्षरमर्थ्यतां श्रुतिशिरोवाक्यं समाकर्ण्यताम् ॥२॥ वाक्यार्थश्च विचार्यतां श्रुतिशिरःपक्षः समाश्रीयताम् दुस्तर्कात्सुविरम्यतां श्रुतिमतस्तर्कोऽनुसन्धीयताम् । ब्रह्मास्मीति विभाव्यतामहरहर्गर्वः परित्यज्यताम् देहेऽहंमतिरुज्झ्यतां बुधजनैर्वादः परित्यज्यताम् ॥३॥ क्षुद्व्याधिश्च चिकित्स्यतां प्रतिदिनं भिक्षौषधं भुज्यताम् स्वाद्वन्नं न तु याच्यतां विधिवशात्प्राप्तेन सन्तुष्यताम् । शीतोष्णादि विषह्यतां न तु वृथा वाक्यं समुच्चार्यताम् औदासीन्यमभीप्स्यतां जनकृपानैष्ठुर्यमुत्सृज्यताम् ॥४॥ एकान्ते सुखमास्यतां परतरे चेतः समाधीयताम् पूर्णात्मा सुसमीक्ष्यतां जगदिदं तद्बाधितं दृश्यताम् । प्राक्कर्म प्रविलाप्यतां चितिबलान्नाप्युत्तरैः श्लिष्यताम् प्रारब्धं त्विह भुज्यतामथ परब्रह्मात्मना स्थीयताम् ॥५॥

vedo nityam adhīyatāṃ tad uditaṃ karma svanuṣṭhīyatām teneśasya vidhīyatām apacitiḥ kāmye matis tyajyatām pāpaughaḥ paridhūyatāṃ bhava sukhe doṣo 'nusandhīyatām ātmecchā vyavasīyatāṃ nija gṛhāt tūrṇaṃ vinirgamyatām saṅgaḥ satsu vidhīyatāṃ bhagavato bhaktir dṛḍhā ''dhīyatām śāntyādiḥ paricīyatāṃ dṛḍhataraṃ karmāśu santyajyatām sad vidvān upasṛpyatāṃ pratidinaṃ tat pādukā sevyatām brahmaikākṣaram arthyatāṃ śruti śiro vākyaṃ samākarṇyatām vākyārthaś ca vicāryatāṃ śruti śiraḥ pakṣaḥ samāśrīyatām dustarkāt suviramyatāṃ śruti matas tarko 'nusandhīyatām brahmāsmīti vibhāvyatām ahar ahar garvaḥ parityajyatām dehe 'haṃ matir ujjhyatāṃ budha janair vādaḥ parityajyatām kṣud vyādhiś ca cikitsyatāṃ pratidinaṃ bhikṣauṣadhaṃ bhujyatām svādv annaṃ na tu yācyatāṃ vidhi vaśāt prāptena santuṣyatām śītoṣṇādi viṣahyatāṃ na tu vṛthā vākyaṃ samuccāryatām audāsīnyam abhīpsyatāṃ jana kṛpā naiṣṭhuryam utsṛjyatām ekānte sukham āsyatāṃ paratare cetaḥ samādhīyatām pūrṇātmā susamīkṣyatāṃ jagad idaṃ tad bādhitaṃ dṛśyatām prāk karma pravilāpyatāṃ citi balān nāpy uttaraiḥ śliṣyatām prārabdhaṃ tv iha bhujyatām atha para brahmātmanā sthīyatām

Sanathana Dharma – Sringeri (YouTube channel); reciter not named

Translation

Let the Veda be studied every day; let the duties it teaches be done well. Through them let worship be offered to the Lord; let the mind let go of acting for gain. Let the mass of wrongdoing be shaken off; let the flaw in worldly pleasure be looked at closely. Let the longing for the Self be made firm; let one leave one's own house without delay. Let company be kept with the good; let devotion to the Lord be made firm. Let calm and the virtues that go with it be cultivated; let binding action be dropped, quickly and for good. Let a true and learned teacher be approached; let his sandals be served every day. Let Brahman, the one imperishable, be sought; let the words of the Upaniṣads be listened to. Let the meaning of those words be inquired into; let the Upaniṣadic view be taken as one's refuge. Let one turn wholly away from bad reasoning; let reasoning in line with scripture be followed. Let "I am Brahman" be contemplated; day after day let pride be given up. Let the sense of "I" in the body be cast off; let arguing with the wise be given up. Let the sickness of hunger be treated: every day let the medicine of alms be eaten. Let tasty food not be begged for; let one be content with whatever comes by fate. Let cold, heat and the like be endured; let no word be spoken in vain. Let detachment be what one wants; let both kindness and harshness toward people be let go. Let one sit happily in solitude; let the mind be settled in the Supreme. Let the complete Self be clearly seen; let this world be seen as cancelled by That. Let past karma be dissolved; by the strength of awareness, let one not be bound by karma to come. Let the karma already in motion be lived out here; then let one abide as the supreme Brahman.

Literal translation

How it helps

When you feel lost about your inner life — you know you want something deeper but have no idea what to actually do — this text gives you a map instead of an inspiration. It is forty plain instructions, two per line, in roughly the order a life might take them: do your daily duties well and offer them up; notice honestly that worldly pleasure never quite satisfies; keep good company; find a real teacher; listen, question, and reflect; drop pride and the habit of arguing; put up with heat and cold; be content with what comes; sit quietly; and finally rest in what you are. Wherever you are stuck, there is a next step on the list, and it is usually small and concrete.

Much of the peace it offers is in the middle verses, which are almost a training in equanimity. Endure cold, heat and the like. Don’t beg for the tasty thing; be content with what arrives. Don’t waste words. Give up arguing, even with people who are right. Let go of both clinging pity and harshness toward others. Each is a way of loosening your grip on how things are supposed to go, so that circumstances push you around less.

Every instruction ends in the same impersonal “let it be done” form (-yatām). Nobody is being commanded and nobody is being congratulated; the work simply gets done. That tone takes the anxious “am I doing this right?” out of practice and leaves just the next thing to attend to.

How to practice

Listen once all the way through with the recording while reading along, then chant with it.
Take one instruction a day. Forty instructions make a forty-day practice; read the line in the morning and notice in the evening where it came up.
When you feel stuck or scattered, read the five verses as a checklist and ask which step you have skipped. It is often an early one, such as good company or doing daily duties well.
Treat verse 4 (alms, begging) as written for monks; for a householder it translates to eating simply, taking what comes without complaint, and not chasing comforts.

Notes

The metre is śārdūlavikrīḍita, with nineteen syllables to a line. Each line holds two instructions, and every one of the forty ends in a passive imperative (adhīyatām, “let it be studied”; tyajyatām, “let it be given up”). That is why translations swing between “let X be done” and a direct “do X”. The literal translation here keeps the passive.

The text is also known as Upadeśa Pañcakam (“five verses of instruction”) and Sopāna Pañcakam (“five verses of steps”), and is traditionally attributed to Ādi Śaṅkara. A sixth phala-śruti verse (“whoever reads and reflects on these five verses daily, with a steady mind, quickly finds the fierce heat of saṃsāra’s forest-fire calmed by the grace of awareness”) follows in most editions. It is omitted here, and the recording does not include it.

To learn to chant it, Swami Tadatmananda of Arsha Bodha Center has a learn-to-chant recording that chants each line twice: listen the first time and chant along the second.

Word meanings

वेदो नित्यमधीयताम् vedo nityam adhīyatām: let the Veda (vedaḥ) be studied (adhīyatām, from adhi-√i) daily (nityam)
तदुदितं कर्म स्वनुष्ठीयताम् tad uditaṃ karma svanuṣṭhīyatām: let the action (karma) enjoined (uditam) by it (tat) be well (su-) performed (anuṣṭhīyatām)
तेनेशस्य विधीयतामपचितिः tena īśasya vidhīyatām apacitiḥ: by that (tena) let worship (apacitiḥ) of the Lord (īśasya) be done (vidhīyatām)
काम्ये मतिस्त्यज्यताम् kāmye matis tyajyatām: let the inclination (matiḥ) toward desire-prompted action (kāmye) be abandoned (tyajyatām)
पापौघः परिधूयताम् pāpaughaḥ paridhūyatām: let the flood (ogha) of wrongdoing (pāpa) be shaken off completely (pari-√dhū)
भवसुखे दोषोऽनुसन्धीयताम् bhava-sukhe doṣo 'nusandhīyatām: let the defect (doṣaḥ) in worldly (bhava) happiness (sukhe) be examined, kept in view (anusandhīyatām)
आत्मेच्छा व्यवसीयताम् ātmecchā vyavasīyatām: let the desire (icchā) for the Self (ātman) be made resolute (vyavasīyatām)
निजगृहात्तूर्णं विनिर्गम्यताम् nija-gṛhāt tūrṇaṃ vinirgamyatām: let one go forth (vinirgamyatām) quickly (tūrṇam) from one's own (nija) house (gṛhāt)
सङ्गः सत्सु विधीयताम् saṅgaḥ satsu vidhīyatām: let association (saṅgaḥ) with the good (satsu) be made (vidhīyatām)
भगवतो भक्तिर्दृढाऽऽधीयताम् bhagavato bhaktir dṛḍhā ''dhīyatām: let firm (dṛḍhā) devotion (bhaktiḥ) to the Lord (bhagavataḥ) be established (ādhīyatām)
शान्त्यादिः परिचीयताम् śāntyādiḥ paricīyatām: let calm and the rest (śānti-ādiḥ: the qualities of a seeker) be cultivated (paricīyatām)
दृढतरं कर्माशु सन्त्यज्यताम् dṛḍhataraṃ karmāśu santyajyatām: let action (karma) be relinquished (santyajyatām) quickly (āśu) and very firmly (dṛḍhataram)
सद्विद्वानुपसृप्यताम् sad-vidvān upasṛpyatām: let a true (sat) learned one (vidvān) be approached (upasṛpyatām)
प्रतिदिनं तत्पादुका सेव्यताम् pratidinaṃ tat-pādukā sevyatām: every day (pratidinam) let his (tat) sandals (pādukā) be served (sevyatām)
ब्रह्मैकाक्षरमर्थ्यताम् brahmaikākṣaram arthyatām: let Brahman, the one (eka) imperishable (akṣara), be sought (arthyatām); akṣara also means 'syllable', i.e. oṃ
श्रुतिशिरोवाक्यं समाकर्ण्यताम् śruti-śiro-vākyaṃ samākarṇyatām: let the statements (vākyam) of the head of the Veda (śruti-śiras: the Upaniṣads) be listened to well (samākarṇyatām)
वाक्यार्थश्च विचार्यताम् vākyārthaś ca vicāryatām: and (ca) let the meaning (artha) of those statements (vākya) be inquired into (vicāryatām)
श्रुतिशिरःपक्षः समाश्रीयताम् śruti-śiraḥ-pakṣaḥ samāśrīyatām: let the Upaniṣadic position (pakṣaḥ) be resorted to (samāśrīyatām)
दुस्तर्कात्सुविरम्यताम् dustarkāt suviramyatām: let one desist fully (su-viramyatām) from faulty reasoning (dustarkāt)
श्रुतिमतस्तर्कोऽनुसन्धीयताम् śruti-matas tarko 'nusandhīyatām: let reasoning (tarkaḥ) approved by scripture (śruti-mataḥ) be pursued (anusandhīyatām)
ब्रह्मास्मीति विभाव्यताम् brahmāsmīti vibhāvyatām: let 'I am (asmi) Brahman' (iti) be contemplated (vibhāvyatām)
अहरहर्गर्वः परित्यज्यताम् ahar ahar garvaḥ parityajyatām: day after day (ahar ahar) let pride (garvaḥ) be given up (parityajyatām)
देहेऽहंमतिरुज्झ्यताम् dehe 'haṃ-matir ujjhyatām: let the notion of 'I' (aham-matiḥ) in the body (dehe) be cast off (ujjhyatām)
बुधजनैर्वादः परित्यज्यताम् budha-janair vādaḥ parityajyatām: let dispute (vādaḥ) with wise people (budha-janaiḥ) be given up
क्षुद्व्याधिश्च चिकित्स्यताम् kṣud-vyādhiś ca cikitsyatām: and let the disease (vyādhiḥ) of hunger (kṣudh) be treated (cikitsyatām)
प्रतिदिनं भिक्षौषधं भुज्यताम् pratidinaṃ bhikṣauṣadhaṃ bhujyatām: every day let the medicine (auṣadham) of alms (bhikṣā) be eaten (bhujyatām)
स्वाद्वन्नं न तु याच्यताम् svādv-annaṃ na tu yācyatām: but (tu) let tasty (svādu) food (annam) not (na) be begged for (yācyatām)
विधिवशात्प्राप्तेन सन्तुष्यताम् vidhi-vaśāt prāptena santuṣyatām: let one be content (santuṣyatām) with what is obtained (prāptena) by the power of fate (vidhi-vaśāt)
शीतोष्णादि विषह्यताम् śītoṣṇādi viṣahyatām: let cold (śīta), heat (uṣṇa) and the like (ādi) be endured (viṣahyatām)
न तु वृथा वाक्यं समुच्चार्यताम् na tu vṛthā vākyaṃ samuccāryatām: but let no word (vākyam) be uttered (samuccāryatām) in vain (vṛthā)
औदासीन्यमभीप्स्यताम् audāsīnyam abhīpsyatām: let impartiality, detachment (audāsīnyam) be desired (abhīpsyatām)
जनकृपानैष्ठुर्यमुत्सृज्यताम् jana-kṛpā-naiṣṭhuryam utsṛjyatām: let pity (kṛpā) and harshness (naiṣṭhuryam) toward people (jana) be given up (utsṛjyatām)
एकान्ते सुखमास्यताम् ekānte sukham āsyatām: let one sit (āsyatām) happily (sukham) in solitude (ekānte)
परतरे चेतः समाधीयताम् paratare cetaḥ samādhīyatām: let the mind (cetaḥ) be fixed (samādhīyatām) in the Supreme (paratare)
पूर्णात्मा सुसमीक्ष्यताम् pūrṇātmā susamīkṣyatām: let the complete, whole (pūrṇa) Self (ātmā) be clearly seen (su-samīkṣyatām)
जगदिदं तद्बाधितं दृश्यताम् jagad idaṃ tad-bādhitaṃ dṛśyatām: let this (idam) world (jagat) be seen (dṛśyatām) as sublated, cancelled (bādhitam) by That (tat)
प्राक्कर्म प्रविलाप्यताम् prāk-karma pravilāpyatām: let past (prāk) karma be dissolved (pravilāpyatām)
चितिबलान्नाप्युत्तरैः श्लिष्यताम् citi-balān nāpy uttaraiḥ śliṣyatām: by the strength (balāt) of awareness (citi), let one not (na) be touched (śliṣyatām) by later [karmas] (uttaraiḥ) either (api)
प्रारब्धं त्विह भुज्यताम् prārabdhaṃ tv iha bhujyatām: but (tu) let the karma already begun (prārabdham) be lived out, experienced (bhujyatām) here (iha)
अथ परब्रह्मात्मना स्थीयताम् atha para-brahmātmanā sthīyatām: then (atha) let one abide (sthīyatām) as (ātmanā, 'as the self of') the supreme Brahman (para-brahman)