Upanishads · Praśna 2.2
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मै स होवाच ।
आकाशो ह वा एष देवो वायुर् अग्निर् आपः पृथिवी वाङ्मनश्चक्षु श्रोत्रं च ।
ते प्रकाश्याभिवदन्ति ।
वयम् एतद् बाणम् अवष्टभ्य विधारयामः
Transliteration (IAST)
tasmai sa hovāca |
ākāśo ha vā eṣa devo vāyur agnir āpaḥ pṛthivī vāṅmanaścakṣu śrotraṃ ca |
te prakāśyābhivadanti |
vayam etad bāṇam avaṣṭabhya vidhārayāmaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्मै सः ह उवाचtasmai saḥ ha uvācato him he said; the seer answered him
आकाशः ह वाākāśaḥ ha vāspace indeed; the ether truly
एषः देवःeṣaḥ devaḥthis deva; this divine power
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind; the air
अग्निःagniḥfire; Agni
आपःāpaḥthe waters; water
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth; Pṛthivī
वाक्vākspeech; the word
मनःmanaḥthe mind; manas
चक्षुःcakṣuḥthe eye; sight
श्रोत्रम् चśrotram caand hearing; and the ear
तेtethey; these powers
प्रकाश्यprakāśyahaving displayed (pra-√kāś); having manifested; having brought to light
अभिवदन्तिabhivadantithey proclaim (abhi-√vad); they declare; they announce
वयम्vayamwe; we indeed
एतत् बाणम्etat bāṇamthe stalk, the reed (bāṇa — 'reed'); the body-reed; the hollow stem
अवष्टभ्यavaṣṭabhyahaving braced (ava-√stambh — 'to prop'); having established; having propped up
विधारयामःvidhārayāmaḥwe hold up; we sustain
Translation
He answered him: "Space — this is a deity, [and so are] wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, sight and hearing. Having manifested [the body], they proclaim: 'It is we who hold this stalk upright, bracing it!'"
Version
390b68ddc57b · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Nine upholders are listed: the five elements — ākāśa (space), vāyu (wind), agni (fire), āpaḥ (water), pṛthivī (earth) — and four faculties: vāk (speech), manas (mind), cakṣus (sight), śrotram (hearing). Of the first the body is built, by the second it acts; together they are the whole crew of embodied life.
te prakāśyābhivadanti — "having manifested it, they proclaim": vayam etad bāṇam avaṣṭabhya vidhārayāmaḥ — "we hold up this stalk (bāṇa — a reed, a stem: an exact image of the body, a hollow stalk that stands while it is held), bracing it". Every power says "we" — and each is right in its way: take away earth and it crumbles, take away sight and it is blind. The rightness of a part is the sturdiest source of its pride: the contribution is real, and so the claim rings convincing.
The quarrel of the powers over precedence is an ancient Upaniṣadic theme (it stands in the Chāndogya and the Bṛhadāraṇyaka): every time the faculties dispute — and every time they lose to the one they had forgotten. Who holds the holders? The next verses will arrange a confrontation — with the same outcome as the gods' dispute before the yakṣa in the Kena.