Upanishads · Yājñavalkya p5
॥
Devanāgarī
तदेके प्राजापत्यामेवेष्टिं कुर्वन्ति । अथ वा न कुर्यादाग्नेय्यामेव कुर्यात् । अग्निर्हि प्राणः । प्राणमेवैतया करोति
Transliteration (IAST)
tadeke prājāpatyāmeveṣṭiṃ kurvanti | atha vā na kuryādāgneyyāmeva kuryāt | agnirhi prāṇaḥ | prāṇamevaitayā karoti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत् एके प्राजापत्याम्tat eke prājāpatyāmsome perform the sacrifice
एव इष्टिं कुर्वन्तिeva iṣṭiṃ kurvantito Prajāpati, indeed
अथ वा न कुर्यात्atha vā na kuryātor else let him not perform it
आग्नेय्याम् एव कुर्यात्āgneyyām eva kuryātlet him perform only the fire sacrifice
अग्निः हि प्राणःagniḥ hi prāṇaḥfor fire is breath
प्राणम् एव एतया करोतिprāṇam eva etayā karotiand by it he performs [the sacrifice] to breath
Translation
Some perform the sacrifice to Prajāpati; or else let him not perform it, and let him perform only the fire sacrifice: for fire is breath, and by it he performs the sacrifice to breath.
Version
b8946c101431 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A rite performed before departure is described; and it is worth examining the basis the book cites: agnir hi prāṇaḥ, "for fire is breath." This identification is ancient in the upaniṣads and underlies everything we read in the Prāṇāgnihotra: if fire is breath, then a fire-offering is an offering into breath, and the altar is transferred into the body. Here it is applied to the rite of departure: the one departing extinguishes the outer fires, for he brings them into himself.
It is worth noting that this rite is, in essence, a rite of farewell to rite: the last sacrifice is performed so that no more will be performed. This arrangement, to my mind, is sensible and deserves praise. One can leave a rite in two ways: abandon it or close it. One who abandons departs, leaving everything as it was; one who closes performs a final act and thereby releases himself.
The difference between these two ways is great and familiar to everyone from ordinary affairs. One who resigns with a proper handover and one who flees at night in the dark are different people, though both are gone from the place. The Vaiṣṇava side does not extinguish rites but changes their object, as was discussed when reading the Prāṇāgnihotra (2.4). But she holds the very principle of closure: every vow of hers has a declared end, as was discussed when reading the Tārasāra (3.6).