Upanishads · Chāndogya 7,15.3
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यदि अपि एनान् उत्क्रान्तप्राणान् शूलेन समासम् व्यतिषंदहेत् न एव एनम् ब्रूयुः पितृहा असि इति न मातृहा असि इति न भ्रातृहा असि इति न स्वसृहा असि इति न आचार्यहा असि इति न ब्राह्मणहा असि इति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yadi api enān utkrāntaprāṇān śūlena samāsam vyatiṣaṃdahet na eva enam brūyuḥ pitṛhā asi iti na mātṛhā asi iti na bhrātṛhā asi iti na svasṛhā asi iti na ācāryahā asi iti na brāhmaṇahā asi iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यदिyadiif; but if
अपिapieven; also
एनान्enānof them; of these
उत्क्रान्तप्राणान्utkrāntaprāṇānfrom whom the breath has gone out (utkrānta-prāṇa); forsaken by prāṇa; breathless
शूलेनśūlenawith a spear (śūla); with a pike; with the spear
समासम्samāsaminto a heap (samāsam — 'having raked together'); having gathered them together; into one pile
व्यतिषंदहेत्vyatiṣaṃdahethe would burn them utterly (vi-ati-sam + √dah); he would reduce them to ashes; he would give them to the fire
नnanot; no
एवevaindeed; surely
एनम्enamit; of this
ब्रूयुःbrūyuḥthey would say (optative of √brū); they would call; they would call him
पितृहाpitṛhāa slayer of his father; the destroyer of his father
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
नnanot; no
मातृहाmātṛhāa slayer of his mother; the destroyer of his mother
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
नnanot; no
भ्रातृहाbhrātṛhāa slayer of his brother; destroyer of a brother
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
नnanot; no
स्वसृहाsvasṛhāa slayer of his sister; destroyer of a sister
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
नnanot; no
आचार्यहाācāryahāthe slayer of his teacher; the destroyer of his preceptor
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
नnanot; no
ब्राह्मणहाbrāhmaṇahāa slayer of a brāhmaṇa; the destroyer of a bearer of knowledge
असिasiare you; you
इतिitithus; how
Translation
But if he pierces those same bodies with a spear when the breath has gone out of them, and burns them to ashes, no one will say to him: "you are a slayer of your father", or "of your mother", or "of your brother", or "of your sister", or "of your teacher", or "of a brāhmaṇa".
Version
cc297b4ad2a9 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:46:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The proof's second act is a merciless thought-experiment: the same bodies, but the breath has gone out; pierce them with a spear, lay them on a pyre — no one will call you a slayer. More than that: the burning of the body is the last filial duty. One and the same act is sacrilege while the prāṇa is there and piety when it is gone.
The conclusion is inexorable: the "father" was not the body — the body is right here, and the father is no more. All whom we love are life lodging in bodies; bodies are the garments of our dear ones, not our dear ones themselves. The Gītā consoles with the same distinction: "the wise grieve neither for the living nor for the departed" (BG 2.11), because they know who is in the garments. Nārada's grief, with which the chapter began, is healed precisely here — by recognising what in the beloved cannot be killed.