Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,5.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अन्नम् अशितम् त्रेधा विधीयते तस्य यः स्थविष्ठः धातुः तत् पुरीषम् भवति यः मध्यमः तत् मांसम् यः अणिष्ठः तत् मनः
Transliteration (IAST)
annam aśitam tredhā vidhīyate tasya yaḥ sthaviṣṭhaḥ dhātuḥ tat purīṣam bhavati yaḥ madhyamaḥ tat māṃsam yaḥ aṇiṣṭhaḥ tat manaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अन्नम्annamfood; food
अशितम्aśitamwhat is eaten (aśita — from √aś 'to eat'); taken as food; consumed
त्रेधाtredhāin three ways (tredhā); in three ways; into three parts
विधीयतेvidhīyateit is distributed (vi + √dhā — 'to be apportioned'); it is apportioned; it is divided out
तस्यtasyait; concerning this
यःyaḥwho; the one who
स्थविष्ठःsthaviṣṭhaḥthe coarsest (sthaviṣṭha — superlative of sthūla); the most gross; the densest
धातुःdhātuḥthe constituent (dhātu — 'a component'); the component part; the element
तत्tatthat; this
पुरीषम्purīṣamas faeces (purīṣa); as excrement; as refuse
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
यःyaḥwho; the one who
मध्यमःmadhyamaḥthe middle (madhyama); the intermediate; the middle part
तत्tatthat; this
मांसम्māṃsamas flesh (māṁsa — 'meat'); as muscle; as flesh
यःyaḥwho; the one who
अणिष्ठःaṇiṣṭhaḥthe subtlest (aṇiṣṭha — superlative of aṇu 'fine'); the finest; the most subtle of all
तत्tatthat; this
मनःmanaḥas mind (manas); with the mind; with thought
Translation
Food that is eaten is divided in three: its grossest part becomes excrement, the middle flesh, the subtlest the mind.
Version
944d61fd9011 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:37:31 PM UTC
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The cosmogony enters the body: as promised (6.4.7), the three threads are now traced in man himself. Food eaten runs along three channels: the gross out, the middle into flesh, the subtlest (aṇiṣṭha) upward, into the mind. Manas stands in one series with excrement and meat — not to demean the mind but for honesty's sake: a man's thinking substance is manufactured out of his dinner.
Hence the whole Vedic discipline of food: it is not hygiene but psychology. As you eat, so you think; the mind eats along with the mouth. The Chāndogya will presently coin it: āhāra-śuddhau sattva-śuddhiḥ — "when the food is pure, the being is pure" (7.26.2), and the Gītā will sort food by the guṇas (BG 17.8–10). The practice of bhakti carries this line to its summit: food offered to the Lord brings the mind not merely purity but remembrance of him — prasāda feeds flesh, thought and love alike.