Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,17.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् यदि ऋक्तः रिष्येत् भूः स्वाहा इति गार्हपत्ये जुहुयात् ऋचाम् एव तत् रसेन ऋचाम् वीर्येण ऋचाम् यज्ञस्य विरिष्टम् संदधाति
Transliteration (IAST)
tat yadi ṛktaḥ riṣyet bhūḥ svāhā iti gārhapatye juhuyāt ṛcām eva tat rasena ṛcām vīryeṇa ṛcām yajñasya viriṣṭam saṃdadhāti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; this
यदिyadiif; but if
ऋक्तःṛktaḥon the side of the ṛcs (ṛktas — 'from the ṛcs'); in the ṛc-portion; through the ṛcs
रिष्येत्riṣyetit should be injured (optative of √riṣ); it should suffer harm; it should be wounded
भूःbhūḥbhūḥ; the sacred formula of earth
स्वाहाsvāhā'svāhā!' (the call of surrender in the oblation); svāhā; the sacrificial cry
इतिitithus; how
गार्हपत्येgārhapatyeinto the gārhapatya fire (the householder's hearth); into the domestic fire; into the gārhapatya
जुहुयात्juhuyātlet him pour the oblation (optative of √hu — 'to offer'); let him make the libation; let him sacrifice
ऋचाम्ṛcāmof the ṛcs; of the hymns of the Ṛg-veda
एवevaindeed; surely
तत्tatthat; this
रसेनrasenawith the sap (instrumental of rasa); by the essence; with the essence
ऋचाम्ṛcāmof the ṛcs; of the hymns of the Ṛg-veda
वीर्येणvīryeṇawith strength (vīrya — 'might, valour'); by might; with firmness
ऋचाम्ṛcāmof the ṛcs; of the hymns of the Ṛg-veda
यज्ञस्यyajñasyasacrificial offerings; of the sacrifice
विरिष्टम्viriṣṭamthe wound (viriṣṭa — 'the damage'); the damage; the flaw
संदधातिsaṃdadhātihe heals it (sam + √dhā — 'to knit together'); he joins it up; he restores
Translation
If the sacrifice is damaged on the side of the ṛcs, let him make an oblation in the gārhapatya fire with the words "bhūs, svāhā!" — thus by the sap of the ṛcs, by the power of the ṛcs, he heals the ṛc-wound of the sacrifice.
Version
327928a68af6 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:23:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the medicine in action. The hotṛ has erred, and the "ṛc" side of the rite has suffered; the brahman pours butter into the gārhapatya with the cry bhūḥ svāhā. The logic of the cure is strictly homoeopathic, along the chain of correspondences: a wound from the ṛcs is healed by the sap of the ṛcs — the vyāhṛti "bhūs", through the fire out of which the ṛcs were pressed, into the hearth-gārhapatya, the fire of the earth. Like is healed by the essence of like.
Twice it is said: rasena — vīryeṇa, "by the sap and by the power". The patch is applied not by re-reciting the spoiled hymn but by a drop of its essence: one pressed drop is stronger than the whole thing done over. The word saṁdadhāti — "he knits together" — comes from the language of physicians setting a bone: the rite is conceived as a living body that can be wounded and can be healed.