Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,11.5
॥
Devanāgarī
इदम् वाव तत् ज्येष्ठाय पुत्राय पिता ब्रह्म प्रब्रूयात् प्रणाय्याय वा अन्तेवासिने
Transliteration (IAST)
idam vāva tat jyeṣṭhāya putrāya pitā brahma prabrūyāt praṇāyyāya vā antevāsine
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इदम्idamthis; thus
वावvāvatruly; indeed
तत्tatthat; this
ज्येष्ठायjyeṣṭhāyato the eldest; to the foremost
पुत्रायputrāyato his son; to his descendant
पिताpitāthe father; the parent
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; sacred knowledge
प्रब्रूयात्prabrūyātlet him declare it (pra-√brū, optative); let him say; let him hand it on
प्रणाय्यायpraṇāyyāyato a worthy one (praṇāyya — 'deserving'); to one who has been proved; to a trustworthy one
वाvāverily; surely
अन्तेवासिनेantevāsineto the pupil who lives with [him] (ante-vāsin); to the antevāsin; to one dwelling beside him
Translation
Truly, this Brahman-[knowledge] let a father tell to his eldest son — or to a worthy pupil living with him,
Version
836e643cd391 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:02:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The rule of transmission: idaṁ vāva taj jyeṣṭhāya putrāya pitā brahma prabrūyāt — "let a father tell this to his eldest son" — praṇāyyāya vāntevāsine — "or to a worthy (praṇāyya — 'deserving to be brought near', tested!) pupil, an antevāsin" (one who lives with his teacher!).
Two channels of succession, of blood and of spirit: a son or a proven pupil: knowledge is an inheritance, and its heirs are chosen more strictly than heirs to gold (the next verse will say: dearer than an earth full of treasure!). antevāsin — "dwelling beside" — is the key condition: the secret is handed not to an attender of lectures but to a sharer of life: the truth is inherited by one who has shared with his teacher bread, labour and silence.