Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,17.7
॥
Devanāgarī
तत् यथा लवणेन सुवर्णम् संदध्यात् सुवर्णेन रजतम् रजतेन त्रपु त्रपुणा सीसम् सीसेन लोहम् लोहेन दारु दारु चर्मणा
Transliteration (IAST)
tat yathā lavaṇena suvarṇam saṃdadhyāt suvarṇena rajatam rajatena trapu trapuṇā sīsam sīsena loham lohena dāru dāru carmaṇā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत्tatthat; this
यथाyathāhow; like
लवणेनlavaṇenawith salt (lavaṇa — the flux borax); by means of salt; with borax
सुवर्णम्suvarṇamgold (su-varṇa — 'of fair colour'); gold; gold
संदध्यात्saṃdadhyātthey weld it (optative of sam + √dhā — 'to join'); they solder it; they unite it
सुवर्णेनsuvarṇenawith gold; with a golden
रजतम्rajatamsilver; the silver one; silver
रजतेनrajatenawith silver; by means of silver
त्रपुtraputin; the tin one; tin
त्रपुणाtrapuṇāwith tin; by means of tin
सीसम्sīsamlead; the lead one; lead
सीसेनsīsenawith lead; by means of lead
लोहम्lohamiron (loha — 'the reddish metal'); the iron one; metal
लोहेनlohenawith iron; with the metal
दारुdāruwood (dāru — 'timber'); the wooden; timber
दारुdāruwood (dāru — 'timber'); the wooden; timber
चर्मणाcarmaṇāwith leather (carman); by means of hide; with a leather thong
Translation
As one welds gold with salt, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, iron with lead, wood with iron, and wood with leather,
Version
2eb4160ec9f0 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:23:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A parable from the forge: for the ancient craftsmen each material was welded (saṁdadhyāt — the same word, "to knit together") by means of a nobler or more suitable one: gold is soldered with borax-"salt", silver with gold, and so on down the ladder of worth to wood and leather. The law is one: a crack in the lower is closed by the higher; the patch is always nobler than the cloth.
The transfer is obvious: the wounds of a rite — a thing composite and fragile — are knit by the vyāhṛtis, the gold of the word, pressed from the lights themselves. But the parable looks further than the craft: every flaw in our service, speech and mind is healed only by what is above them — by essence, by mercy, by the Name. The lower is not mended by the lower; healing always comes from above.