Upanishads · Chāndogya 3,19.2
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् यत् रजतम् सा इयम् पृथिवी यत् सुवर्णम् सा द्यौः यत् जरायु ते पर्वताः यत् उल्बम् सः समेघः नीहारः याः धमनयः ताः नद्यः यत् वास्तेयम् उदकम् सः समुद्रः
Transliteration (IAST)
tat yat rajatam sā iyam pṛthivī yat suvarṇam sā dyauḥ yat jarāyu te parvatāḥ yat ulbam saḥ sameghaḥ nīhāraḥ yāḥ dhamanayaḥ tāḥ nadyaḥ yat vāsteyam udakam saḥ samudraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; this
यत्yatwhich; that which
रजतम्rajatamsilver; the silver metal
साsāshe; that one
इयम्iyamthis; she
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth; the earthly world
यत्yatwhich; that which
सुवर्णम्suvarṇamgold; the golden metal
साsāshe; that one
द्यौःdyauḥthe sky; the heavenly world
यत्yatwhich; that which
जरायुjarāyuthe outer membrane (jarāyu — the afterbirth); the afterbirth; the outer covering [of the embryo]
तेteto you; for you
पर्वताःparvatāḥof the mountain; the mountain peaks
यत्yatwhich; that which
उल्बम्ulbamthe inner membrane (ulba); the inner covering; the foetal membrane
सःsaḥhe; that one
समेघःsameghaḥtogether with the clouds; cloudy
नीहारःnīhāraḥthe mist; the haze
याःyāḥthose who; those waters which
धमनयःdhamanayaḥthe veins (dhamani); the vessels; the blood-vessels
ताःtāḥthey; those; these
नद्यःnadyaḥthe rivers; the streams
यत्yatwhich; that which
वास्तेयम्vāsteyamthe amniotic (vāsteya — 'of the womb'); the waters of the womb; the intra-uterine [waters]
उदकम्udakamwater; the liquid
सःsaḥhe; that one
समुद्रःsamudraḥthe ocean; the sea
Translation
What was of silver, that is this earth; what was of gold, that is heaven. What was the outer membrane, those are the mountains; what was the inner one, those are the clouds and mist. What were the veins, those are the rivers; what was the amniotic water, that is the ocean.
Version
1a079f2b92f4 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:10:48 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The anatomy of the split egg: the silver shell is the earth, the golden one heaven (a world of two vaults!); jarāyu, the outer membrane, the mountains (the stony caul!); ulba, the inner film, the clouds and mists (the soft veil of the sky!); dhamanayaḥ, the veins, the rivers (the earth's blood-network!); vāsteyam udakam, the waters of the womb, the ocean!
The universe is described embryologically: the world is a thing born: the mountains are its afterbirth, the rivers its vessels, the ocean its amniotic waters: everything around us is the tissue of one great Birth. This way of seeing changes one's relation to nature: it is not "the environment" but the natal flesh of the world with which we were hatched: rivers and mists are our fellow-membranes.