Upanishads · Aitareya 1,3.7
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् त्वचा अजिघृक्षत् तत् न अशक्नोत् त्वचा ग्रहीतुम् सः यत् ह एनत् त्वचा अग्रहैष्यत् स्पृष्ट्वा हैव अन्नम् अत्रप्स्यत्
Transliteration (IAST)
tat tvacā ajighṛkṣat tat na aśaknot tvacā grahītum saḥ yat ha enat tvacā agrahaiṣyat spṛṣṭvā haiva annam atrapsyat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; it
त्वचाtvacāwith the skin; with touch
अजिघृक्षत्ajighṛkṣathe tried to seize; he wished to take
तत्tatthat; it
नnanot; no
अशक्नोत्aśaknothe was able; he had the power
त्वचाtvacāwith the skin; with touch
ग्रहीतुम्grahītumto seize; to take
सःsaḥhe; that one
यत्yatwhen; that
हhaindeed; surely
एनत्enatthis; it
त्वचाtvacāwith the skin; with touch
अग्रहैष्यत्agrahaiṣyatwould have seized; would have taken
स्पृष्ट्वाspṛṣṭvāhaving touched (from √spṛś); having handled; having laid a hand on it
हैवhaivaprecisely then; verily
अन्नम्annamfood; nourishment
अत्रप्स्यत्atrapsyathe would have been satisfied; he would have mastered the food
Translation
He wished to seize it with the skin — and could not seize it with the skin. If he had seized it with the skin, one would be satisfied with food merely by touching [it].
Version
b37f57711110 · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:36:16 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth attempt — tvacā: with the skin, with touch. If touch could seize — spṛṣṭvā haiva annam atrapsyat — "one would be full by handling it".
Touch is the most intimate of the outer senses: no longer from a distance (like eye and ear) but at close quarters, skin against crust. And still — a miss: to hold bread in the hand is not to be fed; possession by contact is not yet assimilation. How many who have are hungry with their hands full: contact, however close, does not transmute a thing into life.
The series of misses draws an ever finer line: food must not adhere to the body but enter it and become it. The outer senses are exhausted — all five have certified their inability to seize. Now come the inner ones.