न कञ्चन वसतौ प्रत्याचक्षीत तत् व्रतम् तस्मात् यया कया च विधया बहु अन्नम् प्राप्नुयात् अराधि अस्मै अन्नम् इति आचक्षते एतत् वै मुखतः अन्नम् रद्धम् मुखतः अस्मै अन्नम् राध्यते एतत् वै मध्यतः अन्नम् रद्धम् मध्यतः अस्मै अन्नम् राध्यते एतत् वै अन्ततः अन्नम् रद्धम् अन्ततः अस्मै अन्नम् राध्यते यः एवम् वेद क्षेमः इति वाचि योगक्षेमः इति प्राणापानयोः कर्म इति हस्तयोः गतिः इति पादयोः विमुक्तिः इति पायौ इति मानुषीः समाज्ञाः अथ दैवीः तृप्तिः इति वृष्टौ बलम् इति विद्युति यशः इति पशुषु ज्योतिः इति नक्षत्रेषु प्रजातिः अमृतम् आनन्दः इति उपस्थे सर्वम् इति आकाशे तत् प्रतिष्ठा इति उपासीत प्रतिष्ठावान् भवति तत् महाः इति उपासीत महान् भवति तत् मनः इति उपासीत मनवान् भवति तत् नमः इति उपासीत नम्यन्ते अस्मै कामाः तत् ब्रह्म इति उपासीत ब्रह्मवान् भवति तत् ब्रह्मणः परिमरः इति उपासीत परि एनम् म्रियन्ते द्विषन्तः सपत्नाः परि ये अप्रियाः भ्रातृव्याः सः यः च अयम् पुरुषे यः च असौ आदित्ये सः एकः सः यः एवंवित् अस्मात् लोकात् प्रेत्य एतम् अन्नमयम् आत्मानम् उपसङ्क्रम्य एतम् प्राणमयम् आत्मानम् उपसङ्क्रम्य एतम् मनोमयम् आत्मानम् उपसङ्क्रम्य एतम् विज्ञानमयम् आत्मानम् उपसङ्क्रम्य एतम् आनन्दमयम् आत्मानम् उपसङ्क्रम्य इमान् लोकान् कामान् कामरूपी अनुसंचरन् एतत् साम गायन् आस्ते हावु हावु हावु अहमन्नम् अहमन्नम् अहमन्नम् अहमन्नादः अहमन्नादः अहमन्नादः अहंश्लोककृत् अहंश्लोककृत् अहंश्लोककृत् अहम् अस्मि प्रथमजा ऋतस्य पूर्वम् देवेभ्यः अमृतस्य नाभा यः मा ददाति सः एव मा आवाः अहम् अन्नम् अन्नम् अदन्तम् अद्मि अहम् विश्वम् भुवनम् अभ्यभवाम् सुवर् ज्योतीः यः एवम् वेद इति उपनिषत्
na kañcana vasatau pratyācakṣīta tat vratam tasmāt yayā kayā ca vidhayā bahu annam prāpnuyāt arādhi asmai annam iti ācakṣate etat vai mukhataḥ annam raddham mukhataḥ asmai annam rādhyate etat vai madhyataḥ annam raddham madhyataḥ asmai annam rādhyate etat vai antataḥ annam raddham antataḥ asmai annam rādhyate yaḥ evam veda kṣemaḥ iti vāci yogakṣemaḥ iti prāṇāpānayoḥ karma iti hastayoḥ gatiḥ iti pādayoḥ vimuktiḥ iti pāyau iti mānuṣīḥ samājñāḥ atha daivīḥ tṛptiḥ iti vṛṣṭau balam iti vidyuti yaśaḥ iti paśuṣu jyotiḥ iti nakṣatreṣu prajātiḥ amṛtam ānandaḥ iti upasthe sarvam iti ākāśe tat pratiṣṭhā iti upāsīta pratiṣṭhāvān bhavati tat mahāḥ iti upāsīta mahān bhavati tat manaḥ iti upāsīta manavān bhavati tat namaḥ iti upāsīta namyante asmai kāmāḥ tat brahma iti upāsīta brahmavān bhavati tat brahmaṇaḥ parimaraḥ iti upāsīta pari enam mriyante dviṣantaḥ sapatnāḥ pari ye apriyāḥ bhrātṛvyāḥ saḥ yaḥ ca ayam puruṣe yaḥ ca asau āditye saḥ ekaḥ saḥ yaḥ evaṃvit asmāt lokāt pretya etam annamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya etam prāṇamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya etam manomayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya etam vijñānamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya etam ānandamayam ātmānam upasaṅkramya imān lokān kāmān kāmarūpī anusaṃcaran etat sāma gāyan āste hāvu hāvu hāvu ahamannam ahamannam ahamannam ahamannādaḥ ahamannādaḥ ahamannādaḥ ahaṃślokakṛt ahaṃślokakṛt ahaṃślokakṛt aham asmi prathamajā ṛtasya pūrvam devebhyaḥ amṛtasya nābhā yaḥ mā dadāti saḥ eva mā āvāḥ aham annam annam adantam admi aham viśvam bhuvanam abhyabhavām suvar jyotīḥ yaḥ evam veda iti upaniṣat
Let him deny no one shelter — that is the vow. Therefore let him procure much food by any means. "Food is prepared for him," they say [of such a man]. If that food is given at the beginning [of life] — at the beginning food is prepared for him; if in the middle — in the middle; if at the end — at the end food is prepared for him, for one who knows thus. Security is in speech, acquisition and preservation are in the in-breath and the out-breath, action is in the hands, going is in the feet, elimination is in the lower organ. Such are the human correspondences. Now the divine: satisfaction is in rain, strength in lightning, glory in cattle, light in the stars, generation and immortality and bliss in the organ of generation, and everything in space. Let him worship That as the support — he becomes possessed of support; let him worship it as the great — he becomes great; let him worship it as mind — he becomes endowed with mind; let him worship it as obeisance — desires bow down to him; let him worship it as Brahman — he becomes possessed of Brahman; let him worship it as "the dying round about Brahman" — round about him die his hating rivals and his unloved foes. He who is in man and He who is in the sun are one. He who knows thus, departing from this world, having ascended to the self made of food, having ascended to the self made of breath, having ascended to the self made of mind, having ascended to the self made of discernment, having ascended to the self made of bliss, wanders through these worlds, eating what food he wishes, assuming what form he wishes, and sits singing this sāman: "Hā vu! Hā vu! Hā vu! I am food, I am food, I am food! I am the eater of food, I am the eater of food, I am the eater of food! I am the maker of the verse, I am the maker of the verse, I am the maker of the verse! I am the first-born of the cosmic order, before the gods, the navel of immortality! He who gives me away has thereby preserved me; I am food, and I eat the eater of food! I have overcome the whole world! Gold-gleaming is the light [in me]!" — He who knows thus. Such is the Upaniṣad.
699fbc6a160d · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
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The finale of the Taittirīya runs from the threshold of a house to a song beyond the worlds. The fourth vow: na kañcana vasatau pratyācakṣīta — "deny no one shelter": hospitality is the crown of the science of food: and therefore lay in much, so that for everyone who comes it may be "ready". For one who lives so, food is "ready" at every stretch of life — beginning, middle, end: what is given away returns along the whole length of a destiny.
Then the upāsanās: to worship Brahman in the human (speech-security, breath-acquisition, hands-action, feet-going) and in the divine (rain-satisfaction, lightning-strength, stars-light, the organ of generation — "generation, immortality, bliss"!, space-everything): every function of the body and every element is an altar; and each worship has its fruit: he who worships Him as a support is supported, he who worships Him as obeisance has desires themselves bow to him (kāmāḥ namyante — desires do homage to the humble!).
And the finale of finales: the knower passes through the five sheaths — and does not dissolve into silence: he "wanders through the worlds, eating what food he wishes, assuming what form he wishes" — and sings: ahaṁ annam ahaṁ annādaḥ — "I am food! I am the eater of food! I am the maker of the verse!": the liberated man exults that he is both the gift, and the receiver, and the poet of this mutuality; "the first-born of the cosmic order, the navel of immortality"; "he who gives me away has preserved me". Liberation according to the Taittirīya is not the dumbness of dissolution but a song at the common table of being: the essence of the whole Upaniṣad, which began with a prayer for peace and ends in a feast: the Ground of everything is Savour, and he who has reached It sings. iti upaniṣat — such is the Upaniṣad.