Upanishads · Praśna 2.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अरा इव रथनाभौ प्राणे सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ।
ऋचो यजूंषि सामानि यज्ञः क्षत्रं ब्रह्म च
Transliteration (IAST)
arā iva rathanābhau prāṇe sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam /
ṛco yajūṃṣi sāmāni yajñaḥ kṣatraṃ brahma ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अराः इवarāḥ ivathe spokes (ara); the rays of a wheel; the spokes of a rim
रथनाभौrathanābhauin the hub of a [chariot] wheel (ratha-nābhi); in the axle-nave; in the wheel's centre
प्राणेprāṇein the prāṇa; upon the life-force
सर्वम्sarvamall; entirely
प्रतिष्ठितम्pratiṣṭhitamis established; rests
ऋचःṛcaḥthe hymns of the Ṛg-veda (ṛc); the ṛcs; the verses of praise
यजूंषिyajūṃṣithe yajus (yajus — sacrificial formulas); the formulas of the Yajur-veda; the utterances of sacrifice
सामानिsāmānithe sāmans (sāman — chants); the chants of the Sāma-veda; the melodies
यज्ञःyajñaḥsacrifice; sacrifice
क्षत्रम्kṣatramthe warrior power (kṣatra); royal authority; kṣatra
ब्रह्म चbrahma caand the brahmanical power; and the sacred knowledge
Translation
"As spokes in the hub of a wheel, all is established in prāṇa: the hymns of the Ṛg-veda, the yajus and the sāmans, sacrifice, the warrior power and the priestly power."
Version
108199d20b0d · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
arā iva ratha-nābhau — "as spokes in a hub": an image that in the Upaniṣads signifies utter dependence: the rim of a wheel does not hold itself — every spoke is set into the centre (the Praśna will repeat this formula at its very end, of the Puruṣa — 6.6: an important echo we shall come to). prāṇe sarvaṁ pratiṣṭhitam — "in prāṇa all is established" — and the list is astonishing: ṛco yajūṁṣi sāmāni — the three Vedas; yajñaḥ — sacrifice; kṣatraṁ brahma ca — the warrior and the priestly principles, kingdom and priesthood.
The sense is bold: even the sacred is held up by life. Dead lips will not sing a sāman, a strengthless hand will not pour the oblation; without living bearers the Veda too is a scroll and authority a title. Prāṇa here is the condition of all culture and religion: first breath, then hymn.
Hence the Vedic reverence for life itself as something holy: to guard the breath, the body, the order of one's living is not "materialism" but care for the hub on which the wheel of sacrifice and of knowledge turns. But remember the converse as well: the hub holds the spokes — and the axle holds the hub; whose prāṇa? — the third questioner will ask, and the answer will lead higher.