Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,6.1
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् यत् प्रथमम् अमृतम् तत् वसवः उपजीवन्ति अग्निना मुखेन न वै देवाः अश्नन्ति न पिबन्ति एतत् एव अमृतम् दृष्ट्वा तृप्यन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
tat yat prathamam amṛtam tat vasavaḥ upajīvanti agninā mukhena na vai devāḥ aśnanti na pibanti etat eva amṛtam dṛṣṭvā tṛpyanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; this
यत्yatwhich; that which
प्रथमम्prathamamthe first; the initial
अमृतम्amṛtamimmortal; nectarean
तत्tatthat; this
वसवःvasavaḥVasu; the Vasu gods
उपजीवन्तिupajīvantithey live [on it] (upa-√jīv); they feed; they subsist upon
अग्निनाagnināAgni; by fire
मुखेनmukhenaby the mouth; through the mouth; as by an entrance
नnanot; no
वैvaiverily; indeed
देवाःdevāḥthe gods; divine powers
अश्नन्तिaśnantithey eat (from √aś); they enjoy; they consume
नnanot; no
पिबन्तिpibantithey drink; they consume
एतत्etatthis; all this
एवevaindeed; surely
अमृतम्amṛtamimmortal; nectarean
दृष्ट्वाdṛṣṭvāby beholding (from √dṛś); contemplating; having beheld
तृप्यन्तिtṛpyantithey are sated (from √tṛp); they are satisfied; they are content
Translation
On the first nectar the Vasus live — with Agni for a mouth. The gods truly do not eat or drink: by the mere sight of this nectar they are satisfied.
Version
a6cafadbb90b · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:54:28 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The distribution of the honey: the first nectar (the red, the Ṛg-vedic) goes to the Vasus, and they consume it agninā mukhena — "with Agni for a mouth": fire is the host's mouth (the sacrificial flame is the gate of their meal!). And then a great revelation about the gods: na vai devā aśnanti na pibanti — "the gods do not eat or drink": etad evāmṛtaṁ dṛṣṭvā tṛpyanti — "by the sight of this nectar they are satisfied"!
Nourishment by contemplation is the secret of the heavenly meal: for the higher beings it is enough to see the sweetness to be filled: a tasting by gaze, a banquet of the eye. Here is the limit toward which every refinement reaches: the higher the being, the less it needs to swallow and the more it suffices to behold: the gross eat matter, the subtle drink a spectacle, the perfect are fed by the Seen. The science of honey turns into a science of sight as the highest form of tasting — and the knower (3.6.4) will partake of this meal.