Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,6.3
॥
Devanāgarī
अपाम् सोम्य पीयमानानाम् यः अणिमा सः ऊर्ध्वः समुदीषति सा प्रानः भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
apām somya pīyamānānām yaḥ aṇimā saḥ ūrdhvaḥ samudīṣati sā prānaḥ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अपाम्apāmof the waters; of the water element
सोम्यsomyadear one; noble one
पीयमानानाम्pīyamānānāmof what is being drunk (passive participle of √pā); of the drinks taken; of what is imbibed
यःyaḥwho; the one who
अणिमाaṇimāthe subtle essence; subtlety
सःsaḥhe; that one
ऊर्ध्वःūrdhvaḥupward; the upper
समुदीषतिsamudīṣatiascends; it rises to the top
साsāshe; that one
प्रानःprānaḥthe prāṇa; the vital breath
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
Translation
Of the waters that are drunk, my dear, the subtlest part rises upward and becomes the breath.
Version
dad46fb1801d · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:37:31 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second application of the churning law: the subtlest part of what is drunk rises as breath. That is why in the next khaṇḍa the father will let his fasting son drink his fill: as long as a man drinks, the thread of breath will not break — the prāṇa is held up by water as a flame by oil.
The verse is brief, but its ladder is great: from a sip of water to the breath, and the breath, as the fifth chapter taught, is the king of all the powers and the representative of the Life of all that lives. So an everyday drink turns out to be the lowest rung of the vertical that runs up to Being; in a world woven of three threads there is no sip without a pedigree.