Upanishads · Kaṭharudra p5
॥
Devanāgarī
सोऽरण्यं परेत्य द्वादशरात्रं पयसाग्निहोत्रं जुहुयात् । द्वादशरात्रं पयोभक्षा स्यात् । द्वादशरात्रस्यान्ते
Transliteration (IAST)
so'raṇyaṃ paretya dvādaśarātraṃ payasāgnihotraṃ juhuyāt | dvādaśarātraṃ payobhakṣā syāt | dvādaśarātrasyānte
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः अरण्यं परेत्यsaḥ araṇyaṃ paretyahe, having gone to the forest
द्वादश-रात्रं पयसा अग्नि-होत्रं जुहुयात्dvādaśa-rātraṃ payasā agni-hotraṃ juhuyātfor twelve nights let him pour the fire-offering with milk
द्वादश-रात्रं पयः-भक्षः स्यात्dvādaśa-rātraṃ payaḥ-bhakṣaḥ syātfor twelve nights let him live on milk
द्वादश-रात्रस्य अन्तेdvādaśa-rātrasya anteat the end of the twelve nights
Translation
He, having gone to the forest, for twelve nights let him pour the fire-offering with milk; for twelve nights let him live on milk. At the end of the twelve nights …
Version
c2cc0715847e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Twelve nights on milk, and all this time, an offering into the fire of the same milk. This period is usual in rites and marks a transition: between what a person was and what he will become, an interval is placed. It is worth noting the soberness of the very institution. It is not said "leave the household and tomorrow you will be free"; it is said: live twelve days on milk alone, in the forest, tending the fire. Twelve days is enough time for a resolve taken in a burst of feeling to either strengthen or pass.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds to such intervals too, and her rule is stricter still. Every decisive step — accepting a name, initiation, a vow — is preceded by a period of testing, and the teacher is enjoined not to hurry. One who hurries to take a vow usually hurries to drop it too.
A separate word is worth saying about the milk. It is not chosen at random: it is the one food that can be eaten without killing anyone and without tearing anything away, and so it is counted purest in these books. This image was discussed when reading the Tripurā-tāpanī (18): the cow gives milk not for herself.