Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,10.8
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ एतयोः पथोः न कतरेण चन तानि इमानि क्षुद्राणि असकृदावर्तीनि भूतानि भवन्ति जायस्व म्रियस्व इति एतत् तृतीयम् स्थानम् तेन असौ लोकः न संपूर्यते तस्मात् जुगुप्सेत तत् एषः श्लोकः
Transliteration (IAST)
atha etayoḥ pathoḥ na katareṇa cana tāni imāni kṣudrāṇi asakṛdāvartīni bhūtāni bhavanti jāyasva mriyasva iti etat tṛtīyam sthānam tena asau lokaḥ na saṃpūryate tasmāt jugupseta tat eṣaḥ ślokaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
एतयोःetayoḥof these two; out of these two
पथोःpathoḥof the two paths; of the two roads
नnanot; no
कतरेणkatareṇaby which of the two (katara); by one or the other; by either of the two
चनcanaor else; by some
तानिtānithose; these
इमानिimānithese; all these
क्षुद्राणिkṣudrāṇithe minute (kṣudra — 'the very small'); the tiny ones; the tiny ones
असकृदावर्तीनिasakṛdāvartīnirevolving endlessly (asakṛd-āvartin — 'returning more than once'); returning without end; turning again and again
भूतानिbhūtānibeings; the elements
भवन्तिbhavantibecome; are
जायस्वjāyasvabe born (imperative of √jan); be born!; be born then
म्रियस्वmriyasvadie (imperative of √mṛ); die!; die then
इतिitithus; how
एतत्etatthis; all this
तृतीयम्tṛtīyamthe third (tṛtīya); the third; third in order
स्थानम्sthānamthe state (sthāna — 'the station'); the place; the condition
तेनtenawith that; by means of this
असौasauthat one; yonder
लोकःlokaḥthe world; dwelling
नnanot; no
संपूर्यतेsaṃpūryateit is filled; it becomes full
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
जुगुप्सेतjugupsetaone should shrink from it (desiderative of √gup — 'to feel aversion'); let him abhor it; let him turn away
तत्tatthat; this
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
श्लोकःślokaḥa verse; a stanza
Translation
But those who go by neither of these two paths become those tiny creatures that revolve endlessly: "Be born — die!" This is the third state. That is why that world does not become full. Therefore one should turn away in loathing. Of this there is this verse:
Version
91a243bb36c0 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:30:39 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the answer to the king's fourth question. There is a third state as well, for those who have earned neither the light of knowledge nor even a smoky piety: the swarm of "tiny creatures" (kṣudrāṇi bhūtāni) — midges, worms, everything that is born and perishes beyond counting. Their sentence is compressed into two imperatives: jāyasva mriyasva — "be born! die!" — a wheel with no stops and no questions. That is why that world does not fill up: most of what lives never even reaches the moon.
And the one practical conclusion the Upaniṣad utters with the force of disgust: tasmāj jugupseta — "therefore let one turn away in loathing". Not "let him fear" but let him feel a revulsion toward the round as toward filth. The Sanskrit word is harsh on purpose: while saṁsāra is agreeable, no one leaves it. A saving loathing — not of the world as creation but of the wheel of "be born, die" — is the beginning of the resolve that bhakti calls vairāgya, without which no one seeks the eternal.