Upanishads · Praśna 2.7
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रजापतिश् चरसि गर्भे त्वम् एव प्रतिजायसे ।
तुभ्यं प्राण प्रजास् त्व् इमा बलिं हरन्ति यः प्राणैः प्रतिष्ठसि
Transliteration (IAST)
prajāpatiś carasi garbhe tvam eva pratijāyase |
tubhyaṃ prāṇa prajās tv imā baliṃ haranti yaḥ prāṇaiḥ pratiṣṭhasi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रजापतिःprajāpatiḥPrajāpati; the lord of creatures
चरसिcarasiyou move; you abide
गर्भेgarbhein the womb (garbha); in the matrix; in the embryo
त्वम् एवtvam evayou indeed; you yourself
प्रतिजायसेpratijāyaseyou are born again (prati-√jan); you take body anew; you come to birth once more
तुभ्यम्tubhyamto you; for you
प्राणprāṇaO prāṇa; O life-force
प्रजाः तु इमाःprajāḥ tu imāḥthese creatures then; this progeny
बलिम् हरन्तिbalim harantitribute (bali); tribute; an oblation
यःyaḥwhich; you who
प्राणैःprāṇaiḥwith the prāṇas; through the vital functions
प्रतिष्ठसिpratiṣṭhasiyou stand established; you dwell
Translation
"As Prajāpati you move in the womb — and are born again [as the infant himself]. To you, O prāṇa, these creatures bring tribute — [to you] who abide together with the breaths."
Version
5b3631087c8a · published Jul 26, 2026, 8:35:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
prajāpatiś carasi garbhe — "as Prajāpati you move in the womb": the hymn carries the glory of prāṇa into the most mysterious of her ministries — gestation. In the mother's womb, where there is as yet neither speech nor sight, life is already at work: moulding, feeding, growing; tvam eva pratijāyase — "you too are born again": the infant coming into the light is prāṇa herself in a new guise; the birth of each is one more birth of hers.
tubhyaṁ prāṇa prajās tv imā baliṁ haranti — "to you, prāṇa, these creatures bring tribute": bali is tribute, a levy, an offering. Every breath is an involuntary sacrifice to prāṇa, every meal a tax paid to life; creatures serve her simply by living — whether they know it or not. The hymn only turns the involuntary tribute into a conscious one: a blind due into a thanksgiving.
Here is the distinction that runs through the whole Vedic way: not to begin doing something new, but to recognize Whom you already serve. All alike breathe, eat, are born in the current of Prajāpati's prāṇa; the knower does the same — with a bow. A life lived as an offering is outwardly indistinguishable from mere living — and differs from it as a sacrifice differs from a theft.