Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,5.2
॥
Devanāgarī
आपः पीताः त्रेधा विधीयन्ते तासाम् यः स्थविष्ठः धातुः तत् मूत्रम् भवति यः मध्यमः तत् लोहितम् यः अणिष्ठः सः प्राणः
Transliteration (IAST)
āpaḥ pītāḥ tredhā vidhīyante tāsām yaḥ sthaviṣṭhaḥ dhātuḥ tat mūtram bhavati yaḥ madhyamaḥ tat lohitam yaḥ aṇiṣṭhaḥ saḥ prāṇaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आपःāpaḥthe waters; drops of water
पीताःpītāḥwhat is drunk (pīta — from √pā 'to drink'); the drunk; taken as drink
त्रेधाtredhāin three ways; into three parts
विधीयन्तेvidhīyantethey are divided; they are apportioned
तासाम्tāsāmof them; for them
यःyaḥwho; the one who
स्थविष्ठःsthaviṣṭhaḥthe coarsest; the densest
धातुःdhātuḥthe constituent; a part
तत्tatthat; this
मूत्रम्mūtramas urine (mūtra); as urine; as water
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
यःyaḥwho; the one who
मध्यमःmadhyamaḥthe middle; the intermediate
तत्tatthat; this
लोहितम्lohitamas blood (lohita — 'the red'); as blood; as red blood
यःyaḥwho; the one who
अणिष्ठःaṇiṣṭhaḥthe subtlest; the most subtle
सःsaḥhe; that one
प्राणःprāṇaḥas breath (prāṇa); with the breath; by the vital breath
Translation
The waters that are drunk are divided in three: their grossest part becomes urine, the middle blood, the subtlest the breath.
Version
c6f376e9bc87 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:37:31 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second thread: the waters. The gross becomes urine, the middle blood, the subtlest the prāṇa, the breath of life. That very prāṇa which in the fifth chapter was acknowledged king of all the powers (5.1) turns out, in substance, to be a distillate of what is drunk: life drinks in order to breathe.
The Upaniṣad deliberately leads the pupil through physiology to humility: both thought and breath are not a "spirit" proudly opposed to the body but the subtlest fractions of food and drink. Everything in a man is created and composite — except the one of whom, by the chapter's end, it will be said "you are that". To distinguish the soul from its instruments, one must first see honestly what the instruments are made of.