अन्नम् न परिचक्षीत तत् व्रतम् आपः वै अन्नम् ज्योतिः अन्नादम् अप्सु ज्योतिः प्रतिष्ठितम् ज्योतिषि आपः प्रतिष्ठिताः तत् एतत् अन्नम् अन्ने प्रतिष्ठितम् सः यः एतत् अन्नम् अन्ने प्रतिष्ठितम् वेद प्रतितिष्ठति अन्नवान् अन्नादः भवति महान् भवति प्रजया पशुभिः ब्रह्मवर्चसेन महान् कीर्त्या
annam na paricakṣīta tat vratam āpaḥ vai annam jyotiḥ annādam apsu jyotiḥ pratiṣṭhitam jyotiṣi āpaḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ tat etat annam anne pratiṣṭhitam saḥ yaḥ etat annam anne pratiṣṭhitam veda pratitiṣṭhati annavān annādaḥ bhavati mahān bhavati prajayā paśubhiḥ brahmavarcasena mahān kīrtyā
Let him not reject food — that is the vow. The waters are food, light is the eater of food: in the waters light is established, in light the waters are established. Thus food is established in food. He who knows this food established in food is established: he becomes possessed of food, an eater of food; he becomes great in offspring, in cattle, in the radiance of Brahman, great in fame.
52a803270574 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
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The second vow: annaṁ na paricakṣīta — "let him not reject food": the first forbade reviling with the word — this one, refusal by deed: a fastidious withdrawal from the material side of life (one's own or another's) is also a breaking of the circle. What is brought, accept; what is offered, do not push away: in a culture where guest and food are holy, a needless refusal wounds the very order of mutual feeding.
The contemplation widens to the elements: āpo vā annam jyotir annādam — "the waters are food, light is the eater": the sun "drinks" moisture (evaporation!), yet the waters are also born of light (rain is a child of solar heat): apsu jyotiḥ pratiṣṭhitam jyotiṣy āpaḥ — light is established in the waters, the waters in light: the water cycle described as a mutual meal of the elements, three thousand years before meteorology.
The lesson of the contemplation is the same, going deeper: all nature is a table at which all feed all; and man, in eating, is included in the banquet of the universe, whose Host is the One whose name was revealed to Bhṛgu: Bliss. To eat is to take part in a circular joy; to reject food is to leave His table.