Upanishads · Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3,9.28:4
॥
Devanāgarī
यद् वृक्षः वृक्णः रोहति मूलान् नवतरः पुनः मर्त्यः स्वित् मृत्युना वृक्णः कस्मात् मूलात् प्ररोहति
Transliteration (IAST)
yad vṛkṣaḥ vṛkṇaḥ rohati mūlān navataraḥ punaḥ martyaḥ svit mṛtyunā vṛkṇaḥ kasmāt mūlāt prarohati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यद्yadwhen; that which
वृक्षःvṛkṣaḥthe tree; the trunk
वृक्णःvṛkṇaḥfelled (vṛkṇa); hewn down; felled
रोहतिrohatiit grows up (from √ruh); it sprouts; ascends
मूलान्mūlānfrom the roots; out of the roots
नवतरःnavataraḥanew (nava-tara — 'newer still'); newer still; new
पुनःpunaḥagain; once more
मर्त्यःmartyaḥthe mortal (martya); a mortal; a mortal
स्वित्svitsurely; whether
मृत्युनाmṛtyunāby death; by mortality
वृक्णःvṛkṇaḥfelled (vṛkṇa); hewn down; felled
कस्मात्kasmātout of which; whence
मूलात्mūlātfrom the root (mūla, abl.); out of the root; from the root
प्ररोहतिprarohatiit springs up (pra + √ruh); he shall rise; it stands up
Translation
A tree, when it is felled, springs up again from the root, new; but a mortal, felled by death — from what root does he spring up?
Version
ee222569805d · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:08:05 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the point: a felled trunk sends up a shoot from the root — "new, again"; martyaḥ svin mṛtyunā vṛkṇaḥ kasmāt mūlāt prarohati — "and a mortal, felled by death, from what root?" A tree's root in the earth can be seen; where is a man's root, out of which he will come up after death?
The riddle is put to an assembly that has just seen Śākalya "felled" — and therefore it rings unbearably. This is the question of all the night's questions, taking into itself both "where did the Pārikṣitas go" and "where is the sleeper" and "what does not leave the dead man": has a mortal a root of renewal — and which?