Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,4.1
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् अग्नेः रोहितम् रूपम् तेजसस् तत् रूपम् यत् शुक्लम् तत् अपाम् यत् कृष्णम् तत् अन्नस्य अपागात् अग्नेः अग्नित्वम् वाचारम्भणम् विकारः नामधेयम् त्रीणि रूपाणि इति एव सत्यम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yat agneḥ rohitam rūpam tejasas tat rūpam yat śuklam tat apām yat kṛṣṇam tat annasya apāgāt agneḥ agnitvam vācārambhaṇam vikāraḥ nāmadheyam trīṇi rūpāṇi iti eva satyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhich; that which
अग्नेःagneḥof fire; Agni
रोहितम्rohitamthe red (rohita); the crimson; the red colour
रूपम्rūpamthe appearance (rūpa — 'form, colour'); shape; the appearance
तेजसस्tejasasof the fiery power; of the light-and-heat
तत्tatthat; this
रूपम्rūpamthe appearance (rūpa — 'form, colour'); shape; the appearance
यत्yatwhich; that which
शुक्लम्śuklamthe white (śukla); the bright; the white colour
तत्tatthat; this
अपाम्apāmof the waters; of the water element
यत्yatwhich; that which
कृष्णम्kṛṣṇamthe black (kṛṣṇa); the dark; the black colour
तत्tatthat; this
अन्नस्यannasyaof food; of food
अपागात्apāgātit has gone (apa + √gā — 'to depart'); it has withdrawn; it has vanished
अग्नेःagneḥof fire; Agni
अग्नित्वम्agnitvamthe fire-ness (agni-tva — 'the being-fire'); its 'fireness'; the nature of fire
वाचारम्भणम्vācārambhaṇambeginning with speech; depending on a word
विकारःvikāraḥa modification; a derivative state
नामधेयम्nāmadheyamthe name; appellation
त्रीणिtrīṇithree; threefold
रूपाणिrūpāṇiof the form; the forms
इतिitithus; how
एवevaindeed; surely
सत्यम्satyamtruth; reality
Translation
The red in fire is the appearance of heat, the white the appearance of the waters, the black the appearance of food. Thus fireness departs from fire: the modification is only a name that speech has laid hold of; the truth is "the three appearances".
Version
a1f1fdb120cb · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:36:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The analysis of the world into three threads begins, and first with fire itself: the red in it is heat, the white the waters, the black food (the fuel). Look closely into a flame and "fire" as an independent entity melts away: apāgād agner agnitvam — "fireness has departed from fire". What is left is a name thrown by speech over an interlacing of three threads.
The father's method is the same as with the clay and the pot, only a degree deeper: there names were stripped away down to a substance; here the "substance" itself (fire, sun) is stripped down to three primal threads. The Upaniṣad trains a gaze that does not stop at labels: every "object" is a knot, and one who knows the threads unties knots by knowledge alone. But even "the three appearances" are not the last station: the threads, as we already know, are created and inhabited by Being; to Him the analysis will lead when it reaches its end.