Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,17.10
॥
Devanāgarī
मानवः ब्रह्म एव एकः ऋत्विक् कुरून् अश्वाभिरक्षति एवंवित् ह वै ब्रह्मा यज्ञम् यजमानम् सर्वान् च ऋत्विजः अभिरक्षति तस्मात् एवम्विदम् एव ब्रह्माणम् कुर्वीत न अनेवम्विदम् न अनेवम्विदम्
Transliteration (IAST)
mānavaḥ brahma eva ekaḥ ṛtvik kurūn aśvābhirakṣati evaṃvit ha vai brahmā yajñam yajamānam sarvān ca ṛtvijaḥ abhirakṣati tasmāt evamvidam eva brahmāṇam kurvīta na anevamvidam na anevamvidam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मानवःmānavaḥthe human (mānava — 'belonging to men'; by another reading, Manu's verse); of men; pertaining to men
ब्रह्मbrahmaBrahman; sacred knowledge
एवevaindeed; surely
एकःekaḥone; alone
ऋत्विक्ṛtvikthe priest (ṛtvij — 'he who sacrifices in season'); the officiant; the priest
कुरून्kurūnthe Kurus (the field or clan of Kuru; here the camp of the rite); the Kuru land; the field of sacrifice
अश्वाभिरक्षतिaśvābhirakṣatihe guards it as a mare does (aśvā + abhi-rakṣati — 'he watches as a horse guards the camp'); he watches as a mare her foal; he keeps it under mounted guard
एवंवित्evaṃvithe who knows thus; one who has known in this way
हhaindeed; surely
वैvaiverily; indeed
ब्रह्माbrahmāthe brahman priest; the knower of Brahman
यज्ञम्yajñamsacrifice; the sacrifice
यजमानम्yajamānamthe sacrificer; him who performs the sacrifice
सर्वान्sarvānall; all
चcaand; as well as
ऋत्विजःṛtvijaḥthe priests; the officiants of the rite
अभिरक्षतिabhirakṣatihe guards (abhi + √rakṣ — 'to protect'); she protects; he defends
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
एवम्विदम्evamvidamsuch a knower; one who has known thus
एवevaindeed; surely
ब्रह्माणम्brahmāṇamthe brahman priest; of the knower of Brahman
कुर्वीतkurvītaone should appoint (optative of √kṛ — 'to make, to install'); he ought to be appointed; let him make [him the brahman]
नnanot; no
अनेवम्विदम्anevamvidamone who does not know (an-evam-vid — 'not knowing thus'); not knowing this; the unversed
नnanot; no
अनेवम्विदम्anevamvidamone who does not know (an-evam-vid — 'not knowing thus'); not knowing this; the unversed
Translation
what is human: "The brahman-priest alone guards the Kurus, as a mare [guards her foal]." Truly a knowing brahman-priest guards the sacrifice, the sacrificer and all the priests. Therefore let one make brahman-priest only him who knows this — not one who does not know, not one who does not know.
Version
e53cefc8aed9 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:23:57 PM UTC
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The gāthā compares the silent priest to a watchful mare (aśvābhirakṣati — "guards as a horse does") protecting her foal or a war-camp: three priests labour with their voices, this one with his vigilance, and his vigilance alone suffices to keep the "Kurus" — the field of the rite — safe. A knowing brahman "guards the sacrifice, the sacrificer and all the priests": his silent knowledge is a common shield under which the rest may err and be healed.
The chapter ends with a practical injunction doubly sealed: make brahman-priest one who knows, "not one who does not know, not one who does not know". In a matter where the wholeness of the sacrifice and the fate of the sacrificer are at stake, respectability without knowledge is no excuse: the watch over a holy thing may be entrusted only to one who knows its essence. Thereby the chapter closes upon itself: it began with a youth whose only property was the truth, and it ends by requiring that only a knower of truth be set at the head. Knowledge won by honesty and service — that is the one qualification the Upaniṣad recognises.
So the fourth adhyāya ends: Satyakāma, taught by nature and by a teacher; Upakosala, taught by the fires and by a teacher; and the brahman-physician who guards the sacrifice. Three tales about one thing: truth is handed on along a living chain, kept by silent faithfulness — and leads by the road of light to where there is no returning from.