Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,3.1
॥
Devanāgarī
तेषाम् खलु एषाम् भूतानाम् त्रीणि एव बीजानि भवन्ति आण्डजम् जीवजम् उद्भिज्जम् इति
Transliteration (IAST)
teṣām khalu eṣām bhūtānām trīṇi eva bījāni bhavanti āṇḍajam jīvajam udbhijjam iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तेषाम्teṣāmof them; for them
खलुkhalutruly; indeed
एषाम्eṣāmfor them; of these
भूतानाम्bhūtānāmof beings; of creatures
त्रीणिtrīṇithree; threefold
एवevaindeed; surely
बीजानिbījāniof the seed-source (bīja — 'seed, germ'); of the seed; of the origin
भवन्तिbhavantibecome; are
आण्डजम्āṇḍajamborn from an egg (āṇḍa-ja); the egg-born; from the egg
जीवजम्jīvajamborn alive (jīva-ja — 'the live-born'); the viviparous; from the living
उद्भिज्जम्udbhijjamborn from a sprout (udbhij-ja — 'the sprouting'); the germinating; springing from the earth
इतिitithus; how
Translation
Of these beings there are only three origins: what is born from an egg, what is born alive, and what is born from a sprout.
Version
84db81af5437 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:36:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Creation has reached life, and all that lives is reduced to three "seeds": āṇḍa-ja, the egg-born (birds, fish, reptiles); jīva-ja, the live-born (beasts and men); udbhij-ja, the sprouting (everything vegetable). Three doors by which life enters visibility — and none of them makes the one who enters a stranger to the rest: birth distinguishes methods, not essences.
This brief taxonomy is no digression but a link in the design: the father is preparing his son for the thought that behind all the pedigrees of the living stands one Living One. He who remembers the three doors does not exalt himself over those who came in by another: bird, tree and man are fellow-travellers from one Source, and the Gītā bids us see it squarely: "the wise look equally on a brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog" (BG 5.18).