Upaniṣads · Chāndogya 1,10.1
॥
Devanāgarī
मटचीहतेषु कुरुषु आटिक्या सह जायया उषस्तिः ह चाक्रायणः इभ्यग्रामे प्रद्राणकः उवास
Transliteración (IAST)
maṭacīhateṣu kuruṣu āṭikyā saha jāyayā uṣastiḥ ha cākrāyaṇaḥ ibhyagrāme pradrāṇakaḥ uvāsa
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
मटचीहतेषुmaṭacīhateṣuamong those stricken by hail (maṭacī-hata — 'smitten by calamity'); when the [crops] were beaten down; among the [hail-]ruined
कुरुषुkuruṣuamong the Kurus; in the land of the Kurus
आटिक्याāṭikyāwith Āṭikī; with the woman Āṭikī
सहsahatogether; conjointly
जाययाjāyayāwith his wife; with his wife
उषस्तिःuṣastiḥUṣasti; the sage Uṣasti
हhaindeed; surely
चाक्रायणःcākrāyaṇaḥCākrāyaṇa; a descendant of Cakra
इभ्यग्रामेibhyagrāmein the village of a rich man (ibhya-grāma — 'of an elephant-owner'); in the village of elephant-keepers; in a wealthy village
प्रद्राणकःpradrāṇakaḥin utter destitution (pradrāṇaka — 'worn out'); impoverished; brought to the last extremity
उवासuvāsahe lived (perfect of √vas); he dwelt; he was staying
Traducción
When hail had beaten down the crops among the Kurus, Uṣasti Cākrāyaṇa lived with his girl-wife Āṭikī in a rich man's village, in utter destitution.
Versión
1da50efdaf07 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 22:31:57 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
One of the most human stories of the Upaniṣads begins — the tale of Uṣasti. The circumstances are given sternly and exactly: maṭacī-hateṣu kuruṣu — "when the [harvest] of the Kurus had been beaten down by hail" (or by locusts: maṭacī is a much-construed word for the calamity): famine in the land; āṭikyā saha jāyayā — "with his wife Āṭikī" (young, hardly more than a girl); ibhya-grāme — "in the village of elephant-drivers" (or of a rich man who owned elephants); pradrāṇaka uvāsa — "he lived in extreme want", literally "reduced to exhaustion".
The Upaniṣad is not ashamed of its heroes' poverty: a knower of Brahman is a starving refugee in someone else's village. Now, in hunger, his learning will be tested and displayed: the verses that follow are an ethic of extremity played out over a handful of beans, and then the triumph of knowledge at a royal sacrifice. The road from begging alms to the priest's high seat lies within a single khaṇḍa: a vidyā does not abolish calamities, but it passes through them with dignity and leads out of them.