Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,9.2
॥
Devanāgarī
सः जातः यावदायुषम् जीवति तम् प्रेतम् दिष्टम् इतः अग्नयः एव हरन्ति यतः एव इतः यतः संभूतः भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ jātaḥ yāvadāyuṣam jīvati tam pretam diṣṭam itaḥ agnayaḥ eva haranti yataḥ eva itaḥ yataḥ saṃbhūtaḥ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
जातःjātaḥbeing born (jāta); born; come into the world
यावदायुषम्yāvadāyuṣamthe allotted span (yāvad-āyuṣam — 'as long as life lasts'); his whole life long; the appointed term
जीवतिjīvatidwells; he remains alive
तम्tamit; that one
प्रेतम्pretamthe dead man (preta — 'the departed'); the deceased; the dead man
दिष्टम्diṣṭamto the appointed [place] (diṣṭa — 'assigned by fate'); to the destined place; to his lot
इतःitaḥfrom here; from this world
अग्नयःagnayaḥluminaries; the sacred fires
एवevaindeed; surely
हरन्तिharantithey carry him (from √hṛ); they bear away; they bear him
यतःyataḥwhence; into which
एवevaindeed; surely
इतःitaḥfrom here; from this world
यतःyataḥwhence; into which
संभूतःsaṃbhūtaḥhe came into being (sam-bhūta); came into being; was born
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
Translation
Being born, he lives out the span allotted him. When he dies, they carry him to what is appointed — to the fire from which he came, out of which he arose.
Version
bdeca9cdacd3 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:29:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The circle closes with a solemn brevity: the one born lives out his span — and is carried "to the fire from which he came". The funeral pyre is not an annihilation but a sixth oblation: a body woven by five fires returns to the fire. That is why the rite of cremation is called in the Veda antyeṣṭi, "the last sacrifice": death is set into the same liturgy as conception.
"Whence he arose, thither they carry him" — but this return is no dead end: from the funeral fire begin those very two paths the king asked about. Which way the soul will go from that altar — back along the round of oblations or up the road of light — is decided not on the pyre but by the life that preceded it. Of this the next, great section speaks (5.10).