Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,6.1
॥
Devanāgarī
पृथिवी वाव गौतम अग्निः तस्याः सम्वत्सरः एव समित् आकाशः धूमः रात्रिः अर्चिः दिशः अङ्गाराः अवान्तरदिशः विस्फुलिङ्गाः
Transliteration (IAST)
pṛthivī vāva gautama agniḥ tasyāḥ samvatsaraḥ eva samit ākāśaḥ dhūmaḥ rātriḥ arciḥ diśaḥ aṅgārāḥ avāntaradiśaḥ visphuliṅgāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth (pṛthivī); the solid earth; Earth
वावvāvatruly; indeed
गौतमgautamaO Gautama; Gautama
अग्निःagniḥfire; Agni
तस्याःtasyāḥout of her; it
सम्वत्सरःsamvatsaraḥa year (saṁvatsara); the yearly round; a year
एवevaindeed; surely
समित्samitfuel; the log
आकाशःākāśaḥspace; ether
धूमःdhūmaḥsmoke; the smoke-form
रात्रिःrātriḥnight (rātri); the night-time; night
अर्चिःarciḥflame; the radiance
दिशःdiśaḥthe quarters of the sky; the directions
अङ्गाराःaṅgārāḥthe coals; the glowing coals
अवान्तरदिशःavāntaradiśaḥthe intermediate quarters (avāntara-diś); the in-between directions; the intermediate directions
विस्फुलिङ्गाःvisphuliṅgāḥthe sparks; the flashes of fire
Translation
"The earth, Gautama, is a fire. The year is its fuel, space its smoke, night its flame, the quarters of space its embers, the intermediate quarters its sparks.
Version
56cbe6775e25 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:27:54 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third altar is the earth. Its fuel is the year: the earthly fire burns with time, with the round of the seasons in which everything that grows ripens. The space above the earth is its smoke; night is the flame (the earth "burns" with growth precisely at night, when the saps move upward); the quarters of space are the embers, the intermediate directions the sparks.
The ladder of altars descends: sky — thunderstorm — earth. With each step the sacrifice thickens: faith became Soma, Soma became rain, and now the rain will be poured into the earth to become food. Not one step is skipped or accidental: the soul's road into a body is laid out like a rite — and, like a rite, is reversible for one who recognises it as a rite.