Upanishads · Pañcabrahma 10
॥
Devanāgarī
यत्तत्पुरुषं प्रोक्तं वायुमण्डलसंवृतम् । पञ्चाग्निना समायुक्तं मन्त्रशक्तिनियामकम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yattatpuruṣaṃ proktaṃ vāyumaṇḍalasaṃvṛtam | pañcāgninā samāyuktaṃ mantraśaktiniyāmakam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत् तत् पुरुषं प्रोक्तंyat tat puruṣaṃ proktaṃthat which is proclaimed as Tatpuruṣa
वायु-मण्डल-संवृतम्vāyu-maṇḍala-saṃvṛtamencircled by the sphere of wind
पञ्च-अग्निना समायुक्तंpañca-agninā samāyuktaṃjoined with the five fires
मन्त्र-शक्ति-नियामकम्mantra-śakti-niyāmakamruling by the power of mantra
Translation
"That which is proclaimed as Tatpuruṣa is encircled by the sphere of wind, joined with the five fires, ruling by the power of mantra."
Version
cbb114563fdc · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fourth face is mapped by wind and the five fires. Pañcāgni, "the five fires," is the famous teaching of the Chāndogya (5.3–10) and the Bṛhadāraṇyaka (6.2), expounded by King Pravāhaṇa Jaivali to the brahmin Gautama. This teaching is worth setting out, for it is the most ancient description of the cycle of rebirths.
The five fires are these: yonder light, into which faith is poured and from which the moon is born; the rain-cloud, into which the moon is poured and from which rain is born; the earth, into which rain is poured and from which food is born; the man, into whom food is poured and from whom semen is born; the woman, into whom semen is poured and from whom a person is born. One and the same structure is repeated five times: sacrifice and birth; and the whole path of a being is described as a chain of libations. It is worth noting how material and unsqueamish this description is: sky, rain, food, and conception stand side by side, and all are called fire.
The Vaiṣṇava side accepts and cites this teaching; but she adds a question absent from it and central for her: who moves along this chain? Her answer is given in the Gītā: śarīraṃ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ, gṛhītvaitāni saṃyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt — "when the lord [that is, the soul] obtains a body and when he leaves it, he takes these [senses] with him, as the wind carries scents away from their place" (15.8). That is, the chain of fires describes the road, and the Gītā the traveler; and neither cancels the other.