Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,1.3
॥
Devanāgarī
एतम् ऋग्वेदम् अभ्यतपन् तस्य अभितप्तस्य यशः तेजः इन्द्रियम् वीर्यम् अन्नाद्यम् रसः अजायत
Transliteration (IAST)
etam ṛgvedam abhyatapan tasya abhitaptasya yaśaḥ tejaḥ indriyam vīryam annādyam rasaḥ ajāyata
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतम्etamit; of this
ऋग्वेदम्ṛgvedamthe Ṛg-veda; the knowledge of hymns
अभ्यतपन्abhyatapanthey warmed it (abhi-√tap); they heated it [with tapas]; they brooded over it
तस्यtasyait; concerning this
अभितप्तस्यabhitaptasyaof what was heated; heated by austerity
यशःyaśaḥglory (yaśas); honour; glory
तेजःtejaḥthe blaze; the fiery power
इन्द्रियम्indriyamthe power of the senses (indriya); the vigour of the senses; sensory strength
वीर्यम्vīryammight (vīrya); valour; power
अन्नाद्यम्annādyamfood and victuals (annādya); victuals; what is edible
रसःrasaḥthe sap; essence
अजायतajāyatawas born; came to be
Translation
brooded upon this Ṛg-veda; from it, so brooded upon, its sap was born: glory, splendour, power of the senses, might, and food.
Version
d91f74587b37 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:54:28 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The bees at their work: etam ṛgvedam abhyatapan — "they brooded upon the Ṛg-veda": tapas as a hatching (the same verb by which Prajāpati brooded upon the worlds!): the ṛcs brood upon their own corpus — and out of what is brooded upon is pressed the rasa, the sap: yaśas — glory, tejas — splendour, indriyam — power of the senses, vīryam — might, annādyam — food.
The fivefold sap is the standard formula of living wealth: this is what is boiled out of a Veda when it is heated — that is, cultivated by recitation, by the warmth of repetition: texts not heated by practice give no honey. The sun's hive is replenished through tapas over the word: everyone who reads with fervour is a bee upon the flower of the Ṛg-veda.