Upanishads · Taittirīya 1.10
॥
Devanāgarī
अहम् वृक्षस्य रेरिवा कीर्तिः पृष्ठम् गिरेः इव ऊर्ध्वपवित्रः वाजिनि इव स्वमृतम् अस्मि द्रविणम् सवर्चसम् सुमेधाः अमृतोक्षितः इति त्रिशङ्कोः वेदानुवचनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
aham vṛkṣasya rerivā kīrtiḥ pṛṣṭham gireḥ iva ūrdhvapavitraḥ vājini iva svamṛtam asmi draviṇam savarcasam sumedhāḥ amṛtokṣitaḥ iti triśaṅkoḥ vedānuvacanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अहम्ahamI; I myself
वृक्षस्यvṛkṣasyaof the tree; trees
रेरिवाrerivāthe shaker (intensive of √rī — 'to set in motion'); who shakes [the tree]; the mover
कीर्तिःkīrtiḥglory; renown
पृष्ठम्pṛṣṭhamthe summit; the back
गिरेःgireḥof the mountain; of the height
इवivahow; as it were
ऊर्ध्वपवित्रःūrdhvapavitraḥpurified on high (ūrdhva-pavitra); cleansed upward; pure by the ascending current
वाजिनिvājiniin the strong one; in the bearer of strength
इवivahow; as it were
स्वमृतम्svamṛtamimmortality itself (sva-amṛta); one's own immortality; the very imperishable
अस्मिasmiI am; I am
द्रविणम्draviṇamwealth; possession
सवर्चसम्savarcasamwith light; with radiance
सुमेधाःsumedhāḥwise (su-medhas); prudent; clear-minded
अमृतोक्षितःamṛtokṣitaḥbesprinkled with immortality (amṛta-ukṣita); steeped in amṛta; bathed in the immortal
इतिitithus; such is it
त्रिशङ्कोःtriśaṅkoḥTriśaṅku; of the sage Triśaṅku
वेदानुवचनम्vedānuvacanamthe recitation of the Veda (veda-anuvacana); the Vedic utterance; the proclaiming according to the Veda
Translation
"I am he who shakes the tree! My fame is like the ridge of a mountain! Purified on high, I am that immortal which is in the sun; I am a shining treasure, wise, immortal, indestructible!" — such is the Veda-proclamation of Triśaṅku.
Version
68e2b9500ad4 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The song of Triśaṅku — a flash of ecstatic speech in the middle of a textbook. ahaṁ vṛkṣasya rerivā — "I am the shaker of the tree": the tree here is the tree of the world, of saṁsāra (that same aśvattha with its root above): the knower shakes it — its roots no longer hold in him; kīrtiḥ pṛṣṭhaṁ gireḥ iva — "my fame is like the ridge of a mountain": not self-praise but the self-recognition of the soul's greatness; ūrdhva-pavitraḥ — "purified on high": cleansed by a current that flows upward; vājinīva svamṛtam asmi — "I am immortality itself, that which is in the Mighty [sun]": the recognition of one's share in the imperishable light.
iti triśaṅkor vedānuvacanam — "such is the Veda-proclamation of Triśaṅku": the Upaniṣad carefully preserves another man's rapture as teaching material: this is how a man sounds in whom knowledge has ripened. It is not a programme to be imitated with the voice — it is a tuning fork: the pupil is shown the note his own heart will one day strike.
The song's place in the composition is deeply considered: between the lesson on duty (anuvāka 9) and the farewell to the graduate (anuvāka 11) — a window onto the goal: for the sake of this exultation there were the phonetics, the pentads and the timetable of obligations. Tradition is severe in its means and knows what they are for: that the soul may one day straighten up and sing of its own immortality — as the liberated man will sing in the very finale of the Taittirīya: "I am food, I am the eater of food!"