Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,12.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ ह एनम् अन्वाहार्यपचनः अनुशशास आपः दिशः नक्षत्राणि चन्द्रमाः इति यः एषः चन्द्रमसि पुरुषः दृष्यते सः अहम् अस्मि सः एव अहम् अस्मि इति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha ha enam anvāhāryapacanaḥ anuśaśāsa āpaḥ diśaḥ nakṣatrāṇi candramāḥ iti yaḥ eṣaḥ candramasi puruṣaḥ dṛṣyate saḥ aham asmi saḥ eva aham asmi iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
हhaindeed; surely
एनम्enamit; of this
अन्वाहार्यपचनःanvāhāryapacanaḥthe anvāhāryapacana (the southern fire, on which the offering to the fathers is cooked); the southern sacrificial fire; the fire for cooking the anvāhārya
अनुशशासanuśaśāsahe instructed; he taught
आपःāpaḥthe waters; the moisture; the waters of heaven and earth
दिशःdiśaḥthe quarters of the sky; the directions; the regions of the sky
नक्षत्राणिnakṣatrāṇithe stars (the nakṣatras, the lunar constellations); the constellations; the lights of night
चन्द्रमाःcandramāḥthe moon; the lunar orb; the lunar deity
इतिitithus; how
यःyaḥwho; the one who
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
चन्द्रमसिcandramasiin the moon; in the moon's orb; within the moon
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥman; Puruṣa
दृष्यतेdṛṣyateis seen; is beheld
सःsaḥhe; that one
अहम्ahamI; I myself
अस्मिasmiI am; I am
सःsaḥhe; that one
एवevaindeed; surely
अहम्ahamI; I myself
अस्मिasmiI am; I am
इतिitithus; how
Translation
Then the anvāhāryapacana fire instructed him: "The waters, the quarters of space, the stars and the moon are my forms. The puruṣa who is seen in the moon — that is I; I am he."
Version
70e05ea05bfa · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:21:05 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second teacher is the anvāhāryapacana, the southern fire, on which the monthly offering to the fathers is cooked. Its elements are nocturnal and flowing: the waters, the quarters of space, the stars, the moon. This is the world of nourishing moisture and moonlight, the world of the ancestors — the southern quarter and the moon are not for nothing linked in the Vedic picture with the pitṛloka, the abode of the fathers.
And this fire confesses the same: "the puruṣa who is seen in the moon — that is I". The moon is the cup of soma, the source of the night's coolness and of the sap of plants: "Becoming the juicy soma-moon, I nourish all the herbs" (BG 15.13). Behind the silver light is the same Face as behind the golden light of the sun: the Lord is one, and his lamps are many. The lesson for the pupil is twofold: to learn to see the Person behind every light of the world — and not to halt at any of the lights, for the lunar path, the path of the fathers, still leads back into the round (Chāndogya 5.10), and the heart is destined for more.