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Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 35
॥
Devanāgarī
अध्यापिता ये गुरुं नाद्रियन्ते विप्रा वाचा मनसा कर्मणा वा । यथैव तेन न गुरुर्भोजनीयस्तथैव चानं न भुनक्ति श्रुतं तत्
Transliteration (IAST)
adhyāpitā ye guruṃ nādriyante viprā vācā manasā karmaṇā vā | yathaiva tena na gururbhojanīyastathaiva cānaṃ na bhunakti śrutaṃ tat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अध्यापिताः येadhyāpitāḥ yetaught, who
गुरुं न आद्रियन्तेguruṃ na ādriyantedo not honor the teacher
विप्राःviprāḥbrahmins
वाचा मनसा कर्मणा वाvācā manasā karmaṇā vāby speech, mind, or deed
यथा एव तेनyathā eva tenajust as by them
न गुरुः भोजनीयःna guruḥ bhojanīyaḥthe teacher is not fed
तथा एव चtathā eva caso too
अनं न भुनक्तिanaṃ na bhunaktidoes not nourish
श्रुतं तत्śrutaṃ tatthat which was heard
Translation
"Brahmins who, having been taught, do not honor the teacher — by speech, mind, or deed — just as by them the teacher is not fed, so too what was heard does not nourish [them]."
Version
42f0ab685bb8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A comparison with food is given, built on the play of a single verb; it is worth voicing. Bhojanīya means "one who is to be fed"; bhunakti means "nourishes, feeds." That is: one who has not fed the teacher is not fed by the teaching.
The comparison is precise and simple, and there is nothing mysterious in it: what is heard is absorbed by one who has given something for it, and passes by one who has taken it for free. It is worth noting that reverence is set out in three: vācā manasā karmaṇā, "by speech, mind, or deed." That is, it is not enough to think well and not enough to act well: one must also say it.
Let us add what the Vaiṣṇava side says of payment to the teacher, for she has this concept, and it is well developed. She calls this guru-dakṣiṇā, and that one pays for teaching not with money but with fulfillment was discussed when reading the Kṛṣṇa-upaniṣad. Her rule is stated in the Gītā's verse 4.34, cited more than once: praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā, "by prostration, by inquiry, and by service."
It is worth noting that three are named there, and the middle one — inquiry — stands between two acts of reverence. That is, asking is permitted and required; but it is the one who serves who asks, not the one who tests. Let us add what follows from this verse for every reader of books: what is read without a teacher is absorbed exactly to the extent that the reader is willing to give up something for it.