Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
श्वेतकेतुः हारुणेयः आस तम् ह पिता उवाच श्वेतकेतो वस ब्रह्मचर्यम् न वै सोम्य अस्मत् कुलीनः अननूच्य ब्रह्मबन्धुः इव भवति इति
Transliteration (IAST)
śvetaketuḥ hāruṇeyaḥ āsa tam ha pitā uvāca śvetaketo vasa brahmacaryam na vai somya asmat kulīnaḥ ananūcya brahmabandhuḥ iva bhavati iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
श्वेतकेतुःśvetaketuḥŚvetaketu; the name of Āruṇeya
हारुणेयःhāruṇeyaḥthe grandson of Aruṇa (āruṇeya — a descendant of Aruṇa); Āruṇeya; of Aruṇa's line
आसāsawas; he lived
तम्tamit; that one
हhaindeed; surely
पिताpitāhis father (pitṛ — Uddālaka Āruṇi); the parent; the father
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
श्वेतकेतोśvetaketoO Śvetaketu; Śvetaketu
वसvasago and live (imperative of √vas); take up residence; live
ब्रह्मचर्यम्brahmacaryamin studentship (brahmacarya — the life of a pupil under vows); as a brahmacārin; studentship
नnanot; no
वैvaiverily; indeed
सोम्यsomyadear one; noble one
अस्मत्asmatof our; from us
कुलीनःkulīnaḥin our family (kulīna — 'belonging to the line'); of good family; of our line
अननूच्यananūcyawithout having studied the Veda (an-anūcya — 'not having gone through the learning'); untaught; without schooling
ब्रह्मबन्धुःbrahmabandhuḥa brāhmaṇa only by kinship (brahma-bandhu — 'a relation of brāhmaṇas'); a brāhmaṇa by blood alone; a mere connection of brāhmaṇas
इवivaas it were; as though
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
इतिitithus; how
Translation
There lived Śvetaketu, grandson of Aruṇa. His father said to him: "Śvetaketu, go and live as a brahmacārin: in our family, my dear, it has never happened that anyone, without having studied the Veda, remained a brāhmaṇa merely by kinship."
Version
8d916c537b10 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:34:59 PM UTC
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The most celebrated chapter of the Chāndogya begins — the one in which tat tvam asi will be spoken. And it begins domestically: a father sends his twelve-year-old son off to study. Uddālaka's argument is family honour: brahma-bandhu, "a relative of brāhmaṇas", is a stinging word for one who is a brāhmaṇa by blood and not by knowledge. One cannot be born into the title — one can only become it; Sanskrit distinguishes mercilessly: a brāhmaṇa by birth without study is merely his own "connection".
Behind the severity is a father's far-sighted love: Uddālaka, who once had no answers to a king's five questions (5.3) and was not ashamed to become a pupil, will not let his son live on the family capital. So opens the chapter of the highest knowledge: before the truth of Being, the simple dharma of discipleship must be fulfilled. There is no short road to "you are that" that bypasses a humble "go and learn".