Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,17.8
॥
Devanāgarī
एवम् एषाम् लोकानाम् आसाम् देवतानाम् अस्याः त्रय्याः विद्यायाः वीर्येण यज्ञस्य विरिष्टम् संदधाति भेषजकृतः ह वा एषः यज्ञः यत्र एवम्विद् ब्रह्मा भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
evam eṣām lokānām āsām devatānām asyāḥ trayyāḥ vidyāyāḥ vīryeṇa yajñasya viriṣṭam saṃdadhāti bheṣajakṛtaḥ ha vā eṣaḥ yajñaḥ yatra evamvid brahmā bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एवम्evamthus; in this way
एषाम्eṣāmfor them; of these
लोकानाम्lokānāmworlds; realms
आसाम्āsāmfor them; of these
देवतानाम्devatānāmof the deities; of the powers
अस्याःasyāḥby this; out of this
त्रय्याःtrayyāḥof the threefold [knowledge] (genitive of trayī); of the triple [vidyā]; of the triad of Vedas
विद्यायाःvidyāyāḥof the vidyā; knowledges
वीर्येणvīryeṇain strength; by energy
यज्ञस्यyajñasyasacrificial offerings; of the sacrifice
विरिष्टम्viriṣṭamthe damage; the damaged part
संदधातिsaṃdadhātijoins; he sets right
भेषजकृतःbheṣajakṛtaḥhealed (bheṣaja-kṛta — 'provided with medicine'); cured; with the remedy applied
हhaindeed; surely
वाvāverily; surely
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
यज्ञःyajñaḥsacrifice; sacrifice
यत्रyatrawhere; when
एवम्विद्evamvidone who knows this (evam-vid); he who knows thus; one who has realised this
ब्रह्माbrahmāthe brahman priest; the knower of Brahman
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
Translation
so by the power of these worlds, these deities and the threefold knowledge he knits the wound of the sacrifice. Truly that sacrifice is healed where the brahman-priest is one who knows this.
Version
f7e9ca59be4b · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:23:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The upshot of the parable: a brahman who knows the chain of saps — worlds, lights, Vedas, vyāhṛtis — holds in his hands the "power" (vīrya) of all three tiers of the universe, and therefore can knit any wound of the rite. A sacrifice with such a priest is called bheṣajakṛta — literally "provided with medicine", salted with healing in advance: his very presence is a pharmacy.
So the riddle of the silent priest, set at 4.16, is resolved: what is the brahman doing, who "does nothing"? He is the sacrifice's physician. His knowledge is not an ornament but the whole rite's margin of safety. Hence an abiding lesson: what a community values most is not the one who serves loudest but the one whose knowledge and collectedness quietly hold the common work together — and mend it when the others err.