Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,20.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ याम् द्वितीयाम् जुहुयात् ताम् जुहुयात् व्यानाय स्वाहा इति व्यानः तृप्यति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yām dvitīyām juhuyāt tām juhuyāt vyānāya svāhā iti vyānaḥ tṛpyati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
याम्yāmwhich; that
द्वितीयाम्dvitīyāmthe second (dvitīyā); the second; the second in order
जुहुयात्juhuyātlet him make the oblation; let him bring
ताम्tāmit; that
जुहुयात्juhuyātlet him make the oblation; let him bring
व्यानायvyānāyato the vyāna (vi-āna — the 'diffused' breath that links inhalation and exhalation); to the pervading breath; to vyāna
स्वाहाsvāhāsvāhā; the sacrificial exclamation
इतिitithus; how
व्यानःvyānaḥthe vyāna (the breath diffused through the body); vyāna; the linking breath
तृप्यतिtṛpyatiis satisfied; is sated
Translation
Let him make the second oblation with the words: "To the vyāna, svāhā!" Then the vyāna is satisfied.
Version
2361648b58b1 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:33:32 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second mouthful goes to the vyāna, the breath that "runs apart" (vi + √an) through the whole body: it links inhalation and exhalation, distributes strength through the limbs, keeps the body one. Five handfuls of one meal will be dealt out to five prāṇas — the fivefold breathing by which a man lives.
The point of this dealing-out is attention: one who eats with these cries cannot eat distractedly. Every handful is addressed; the meal turns into a roll-call of the living powers, and a man at table meets for the first time those by whom he lives. So the Upaniṣad cures the most everyday of forgettings — the forgetting that we do not live by ourselves.