Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,11.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् ह एतत् ब्रह्मा प्रजापतये उवाच प्रजापतिः मनवे मनुः प्रजाभ्यः तत् ह एतत् उद्दालकाय आरुणये ज्येष्ठाय पुत्राय पिता ब्रह्म प्रोवाच
Transliteration (IAST)
tat ha etat brahmā prajāpataye uvāca prajāpatiḥ manave manuḥ prajābhyaḥ tat ha etat uddālakāya āruṇaye jyeṣṭhāya putrāya pitā brahma provāca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; this
हhaindeed; surely
एतत्etatthis; all this
ब्रह्माbrahmāthe brahman priest; the knower of Brahman
प्रजापतयेprajāpatayePrajāpati; to the Lord of creatures
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
प्रजापतिःprajāpatiḥPrajāpati; the lord of creatures
मनवेmanaveto Manu (manu — the forefather of men); to Manu; to the Progenitor
मनुःmanuḥto Manu; the progenitor
प्रजाभ्यःprajābhyaḥto the creatures; to the offspring
तत्tatthat; this
हhaindeed; surely
एतत्etatthis; all this
उद्दालकायuddālakāyato Uddālaka; to the sage Uddālaka
आरुणयेāruṇayeĀruṇi; to the descendant of Aruṇa
ज्येष्ठायjyeṣṭhāyato the eldest (jyeṣṭha); to the first-born; to the eldest [son]
पुत्रायputrāyato his son; to his descendant
पिताpitāthe father; the parent
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; sacred knowledge
प्रोवाचprovācahe handed on; he said
Translation
This [teaching] Brahmā told to Prajāpati, Prajāpati to Manu, Manu to his offspring. And this same Brahman-[knowledge] a father told to Uddālaka Āruṇi, his eldest son.
Version
6ef7d1b9001c · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:02:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The pedigree of the honey: brahmā prajāpataye… prajāpatir manave manuḥ prajābhyaḥ — "Brahmā to Prajāpati, Prajāpati to Manu, Manu to his offspring": a chain from the Creator, through the Lord of creatures and the Forefather of men, down to all of us: the line of transmission is written into the text, as in the Muṇḍaka and the Gītā (4.1: "I told it to Vivasvat, Vivasvat to Manu…").
And a second, domestic branch: uddālakāyāruṇaye jyeṣṭhāya putrāya pitā brahma provāca — "a father told it to Uddālaka Āruṇi, his eldest son": here the name of Uddālaka sounds for the first time — the man who in the sixth adhyāya will say to his son Śvetaketu the great tat tvam asi! The future greatest teacher of the Upaniṣads is himself shown as a pupil at his father's side: the knowledge he will hand on he first received: no one begins from himself.