Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,3.1
॥
Devanāgarī
श्वेतकेतुः ह आरुणेयः पञ्चालानाम् समितिम् एयाय तम् ह प्रवाहणः जैवलिः उवाच कुमार अनु त्वा अशिषत् पिता इति अनु हि भगवः इति
Transliteration (IAST)
śvetaketuḥ ha āruṇeyaḥ pañcālānām samitim eyāya tam ha pravāhaṇaḥ jaivaliḥ uvāca kumāra anu tvā aśiṣat pitā iti anu hi bhagavaḥ iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
श्वेतकेतुःśvetaketuḥŚvetaketu (the son of Uddālaka Āruṇi; to him 'tat tvam asi' will be said); Śvetaketu Āruṇeya; the youth Śvetaketu
हhaindeed; surely
आरुणेयःāruṇeyaḥĀruṇeya (a descendant of Aruṇa, son of Uddālaka); the grandson of Aruṇa; of the line of Āruṇi
पञ्चालानाम्pañcālānāmof the Pañcālas (the people of Pañcāla); among the Pañcālas; of the Pañcāla tribe
समितिम्samitimto the assembly (samiti — 'a gathering, a council'); to the meeting; to the council
एयायeyāyawent; made his way
तम्tamit; that one
हhaindeed; surely
प्रवाहणःpravāhaṇaḥPravāhaṇa (the king of Pañcāla); Pravāhaṇa Jaivali; King Pravāhaṇa
जैवलिःjaivaliḥJaivali; the son of Jīvala
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
कुमारkumārayoung man (kumāra — 'a lad'); O youth; boy
अनुanuwhether; thereafter
त्वाtvāyou; to you
अशिषत्aśiṣathe instructed you (aorist of anu + √śās); he taught; he imparted
पिताpitāthe father; the parent
इतिitithus; how
अनुanuwhether; thereafter
हिhiindeed; truly
भगवःbhagavaḥvenerable one; sir
इतिitithus; how
Translation
Śvetaketu Āruṇeya came to the assembly of the Pañcālas. Pravāhaṇa Jaivali asked him: "Young man, has your father instructed you?" — "He has, sir."
Version
f2046ad6fd1f · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:26:36 PM UTC
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One of the most important stories of the Upaniṣads begins — of the five fires and the two paths of the soul. Its characters are significant: Śvetaketu, son of Uddālaka Āruṇi, is the youth to whom in the sixth chapter his father will say tat tvam asi; Pravāhaṇa Jaivali is a kṣatriya king who has already put the connoisseurs of the sāman to shame in the first chapter (1.8). A learned brāhmaṇa household meets a royal wisdom — and the meeting will begin with the defeat of learning.
Śvetaketu's answer — "he has, sir" — is spoken with the calm self-assurance of a graduate: he has completed the course, he is "instructed" (anuśiṣṭa). The whole scene is built as a testing of that word: the king's five questions will show that one may learn the Vedas and not know the main thing — where the dead go and how they return. There is a knowledge that is not examined in the schools but is asked for at the boundary of life and death.