Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 2,6.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ वंशः पौतिमाष्यः गौपवनात् गौपवनः पशुतिमाष्यात् पशुतिमाष्यः गौपवनात् गौपवनः कौशिकात् कौशिकः कौण्डिन्यात् कौण्डिन्यः शाण्डिल्यात् शाण्डिल्यः कौशिकाच् च गौतमाच् च गौतमः
Transliteration (IAST)
atha vaṃśaḥ pautimāṣyaḥ gaupavanāt gaupavanaḥ paśutimāṣyāt paśutimāṣyaḥ gaupavanāt gaupavanaḥ kauśikāt kauśikaḥ kauṇḍinyāt kauṇḍinyaḥ śāṇḍilyāt śāṇḍilyaḥ kauśikāc ca gautamāc ca gautamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; further
वंशःvaṃśaḥthe line of succession (vaṁśa — 'a lineage, a vine'); the line of transmission; the succession
पौतिमाष्यःpautimāṣyaḥPautimāṣya (the name of a teacher); Pautimāṣya; Pautimāṣya
गौपवनात्gaupavanātfrom Gaupavana (abl.); from Gaupavana; from Gaupavana
गौपवनःgaupavanaḥGaupavana; the name of the teacher
पशुतिमाष्यात्paśutimāṣyātfrom Pauṭimāṣya; from the teacher Pauṭimāṣya
पशुतिमाष्यःpaśutimāṣyaḥPauṭimāṣya; the name of the teacher
गौपवनात्gaupavanātfrom Gaupavana (abl.); from Gaupavana; from Gaupavana
गौपवनःgaupavanaḥGaupavana; the name of the teacher
कौशिकात्kauśikātfrom Kauśika (abl.); from Kauśika; from Kauśika
कौशिकःkauśikaḥKauśika; the name of the teacher
कौण्डिन्यात्kauṇḍinyātfrom Kauṇḍinya; from the teacher Kauṇḍinya
कौण्डिन्यःkauṇḍinyaḥKauṇḍinya; the name of the teacher
शाण्डिल्यात्śāṇḍilyātfrom Śāṇḍilya (abl.); from Śāṇḍilya; from Śāṇḍilya
शाण्डिल्यःśāṇḍilyaḥŚāṇḍilya; the name of the teacher
कौशिकाच्kauśikācfrom Kauśika; from the teacher Kauśika
चcaand; as well as
गौतमाच्gautamācfrom Gautama; from the teacher Gautama
चcaand; as well as
गौतमःgautamaḥGautama; the name of the teacher
Translation
Now the line of succession: Pautimāṣya from Gaupavana, Gaupavana from Paśutimāṣya, Paśutimāṣya from Gaupavana, Gaupavana from Kauśika, Kauśika from Kauṇḍinya, Kauṇḍinya from Śāṇḍilya, Śāṇḍilya from Kauśika and Gautama, Gautama —
Version
dfd3f9996e38 · published Jul 27, 2026, 12:58:45 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second adhyāya closes with a vaṁśa, a "vine" of succession: a list of the teachers who handed this knowledge on from hand to hand. The word vaṁśa means both "lineage" and "a bamboo stalk": knowledge grows in joints, like a reed — teacher after teacher, with no breaks.
A list that looks dry is in fact a solemn litany of gratitude: every name is a life laid down so that the madhu-vidyā and the words of Yājñavalkya should reach us unspilled. The Upaniṣad knows no anonymous truth: every knowledge has a pedigree, and the reader becomes its next joint.