Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,4.3
॥
Devanāgarī
यत् चन्द्रमसः रोहितम् रूपम् तेजसस् तत् रूपम् यत् शुक्लम् तत् अपाम् यत् कृष्णम् तत् अन्नस्य अपागात् चन्द्रात् चन्द्रत्वम् वाचारम्भणम् विकारः नामधेयम् त्रीणि रूपाणि इति एव सत्यम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yat candramasaḥ rohitam rūpam tejasas tat rūpam yat śuklam tat apām yat kṛṣṇam tat annasya apāgāt candrāt candratvam vācārambhaṇam vikāraḥ nāmadheyam trīṇi rūpāṇi iti eva satyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhich; that which
चन्द्रमसःcandramasaḥof the moon (candramas, genitive); in the moon; of the lunar orb
रोहितम्rohitamthe red; the ruddy
रूपम्rūpamshape; the appearance
तेजसस्tejasasof the fiery power; of the light-and-heat
तत्tatthat; this
रूपम्rūpamshape; the appearance
यत्yatwhich; that which
शुक्लम्śuklamthe white; the bright
तत्tatthat; this
अपाम्apāmof the waters; of the water element
यत्yatwhich; that which
कृष्णम्kṛṣṇamthe black; the dark
तत्tatthat; this
अन्नस्यannasyaof food; of food
अपागात्apāgātit went away; it vanished
चन्द्रात्candrātfrom the moon; out of the moon
चन्द्रत्वम्candratvamthe moon-ness (candra-tva); its 'moonness'; the nature of the moon
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 the moon is the appearance of heat, the white the appearance of the waters, the black the appearance of food. Thus moonness departs from the moon: the modification is only a name that speech has laid hold of; the truth is "the three appearances".
Version
5e418b87a99d · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:36:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Third is the moon, "King Soma", the food of the gods (5.10.4): her royalty too is resolved into three threads. The reddish tinge, the milky whiteness, the dark seas — heat, waters, food; "moonness" proves to be the name of a knot, not the name of an essence.
The series is arranged in descending glory: the fire of earthly altars, the sun of day, the moon of night — and lightning ahead. Everything a man has ever deified in the sky passes the same test of the three threads. Only what is not woven will stand — Being; to Him all the threads will converge in the eighth khaṇḍa, when the same moon and the same heat meet again in the account of death and the root.