Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,1.3
॥
Devanāgarī
यः ह वै प्रतिष्ठाम् वेद प्रति ह तिष्ठति अस्मिन् च लोके अमुष्मिन् च चक्षुः वाव प्रतिष्ठा
Transliteration (IAST)
yaḥ ha vai pratiṣṭhām veda prati ha tiṣṭhati asmin ca loke amuṣmin ca cakṣuḥ vāva pratiṣṭhā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यःyaḥwho; the one who
हhaindeed; surely
वैvaiverily; indeed
प्रतिष्ठाम्pratiṣṭhāmthe support (prati-ṣṭhā — 'that on which one stands'); the stability; the support
वेदvedaknows; understands
प्रतिpratitowards; back to
हhaindeed; surely
तिष्ठतिtiṣṭhatiit stands (from √sthā); is established; it holds
अस्मिन्asminupon It; in this
चcaand; as well as
लोकेlokeworld; realms
अमुष्मिन्amuṣminin that; in the other
चcaand; as well as
चक्षुःcakṣuḥthe eye; sight; the eye
वावvāvatruly; indeed
प्रतिष्ठाpratiṣṭhāthe support; the stability
Translation
He who knows the support stands firm both in this world and in that. The eye is the support.
Version
fdd7c1c722ea · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:25:12 PM UTC
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The eye is pratiṣṭhā, "the support": by sight a man plants his foot, finds his road, tells his own from another's; blindness is the first thing that robs a step of its confidence. One who sees "stands firm" both in this world and in that — for the road beyond death too, as the fourth chapter showed, is a road of light discerned by the soul's "eye".
And again the title holds only within its limits: the eye supports the body, yet the eye itself, as the parable will say, may be absent for a year while a man lives on "like the blind". A support that needs a support of its own is not the final support; the final one will be named at the end of the quarrel.