Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.8
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः सन्ध्यां सकुशोऽहरहरुपासीत । अग्निर्ज्योतिरित्यादिभिरग्नौ जुहुयात्
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ sandhyāṃ sakuśo'haraharupāsīta | agnirjyotirityādibhiragnau juhuyāt
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः सन्ध्यां स-कुशःtataḥ sandhyāṃ sa-kuśaḥthen the sandhyā, with kuśa grass
अहः अहः उपासीतahaḥ ahaḥ upāsītaday after day let him worship
अग्निः ज्योतिः इति-आदिभिःagniḥ jyotiḥ iti-ādibhiḥwith «fire is light» and the rest
अग्नौ जुहुयात्agnau juhuyātlet him offer into the fire
Translation
«Then the sandhyā, with kuśa grass, day after day let him worship; with «fire is light» and the rest [of the mantras] let him offer into the fire».
Version
6056fbbb7faa · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Sandhyā, the service at the junction of day and night, performed three times, is named; it was discussed when reading Tripurātāpinī (96), where it was noted that the morning, midday, and evening prayers are three different things, for the person in them is different. Worth noting the phrase ahar ahaḥ, «day after day». It belongs to the same series as dine dine and punaḥ punaḥ, discussed when reading Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (1.55); and all of them say one thing: what decides is not the size of the effort but its repetition.
The word upāsīta, «let him worship», deserves separate analysis. It is from upa-ās, «to sit near»; and the same root was discussed when reading Rudra-hṛdaya (52p) in connection with the word upaniṣad. That is, worship is named, in the language itself, as sitting near. Not reflection, not sacrifice, not rapture, but the fact that a person has sat down beside and remains sitting.
This definition, to my mind, is better than all the abstract ones. Anyone who has someone dear to him knows that what matters is not saying something important, but being nearby; and that hours spent silently in one room together mean more than conversations. The Vaishnava side uses the word upāsanā and understands it the same way; and so its service consists mostly not of words but of presence: sitting before the image, listening, doing something nearby.