Upaniṣads · Chāndogya 8,8.5
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मात् अपि अद्य इह अददानम् अश्रद्दधानम् अयजमानम् आहुः आसुरः बत इति असुराणाम् हि एषा उपनिषत् प्रेतस्य शरीरम् भिक्षया वसनेन अलंकारेण इति संस्कुर्वन्ति एतेन हि अमुम् लोकम् जेष्यन्तः मन्यन्ते
Transliteración (IAST)
tasmāt api adya iha adadānam aśraddadhānam ayajamānam āhuḥ āsuraḥ bata iti asurāṇām hi eṣā upaniṣat pretasya śarīram bhikṣayā vasanena alaṃkāreṇa iti saṃskurvanti etena hi amum lokam jeṣyantaḥ manyante
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
अपिapieven; also
अद्यadyatoday; now
इहihahere; in this world
अददानम्adadānamone who does not give (a-dadāna); the ungenerous; who bestows nothing
अश्रद्दधानम्aśraddadhānamone who does not believe (a-śraddadhāna); the faithless; devoid of faith
अयजमानम्ayajamānamone who does not sacrifice (a-yajamāna); the non-sacrificer; who offers no sacrifice
आहुःāhuḥthey say; said
आसुरःāsuraḥit is demoniac (āsura — 'of the asuras'); asuric; devilish
बतbataalas (bata — an exclamation of regret); alas!; ah
इतिitithus; how
असुराणाम्asurāṇāmof the asuras; of the adversaries of the gods
हिhiindeed; truly
एषाeṣāthis; such is
उपनिषत्upaniṣatthe Upaniṣad; the secret teaching
प्रेतस्यpretasyaof the dead man (preta, genitive); the deceased; the dead man
शरीरम्śarīrambody; the bodily form
भिक्षयाbhikṣayāwith alms (bhikṣā, instrumental); with charity; by gifts
वसनेनvasanenawith garments (vasana, instrumental); with clothing; with raiment
अलंकारेणalaṃkāreṇawith ornaments (alaṁkāra, instrumental); with adornments; with decoration
इतिitithus; how
संस्कुर्वन्तिsaṃskurvantithey make it seemly; they make
एतेनetenaby this; by means of this
हिhiindeed; truly
अमुम्amumthat one; another
लोकम्lokamthe world; dwelling
जेष्यन्तःjeṣyantaḥthinking to conquer (from √ji, future participle); hoping to win; expecting to gain
मन्यन्तेmanyantethey consider; they understand [it to be]
Traducción
Therefore even today they say here of one who does not give, does not believe, does not sacrifice: "Alas, he is asuric!" — for such is the upaniṣad of the asuras. They deck the body of a dead man with alms, with garments, with ornaments — and think by this to conquer that world.
Versión
c330b24bc067 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 23:54:28 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The trace of a false upaniṣad in men's manners: stinginess, unbelief, unwillingness to sacrifice are "asuric" (āsuraḥ bata!). The logic is direct: if the "I" is the body, then to give is to lose oneself; faith, gift and sacrifice are meaningless to one whose selfhood ends at his skin. Behaviour is always theology in action; by the way a man gives and believes, one sees what he takes himself to be.
And a last touch, a funerary one: the asuras deck a dead man's body "with alms, garments and ornaments", hoping by finery to conquer the other world. A bitter irony of history: a cult that began with a prettified reflection in a bowl (8.8.2 — "adorn yourselves and look") ends in the adorning of a corpse. He who has taken the surface for himself understands eternity too as cosmetics. Against this religion of the outward stands the whole Chāndogya — with its hoard underfoot and its Puruṣa in the eye — and the story will now return to Indra, whom one thing saved from the same error: an unquieted heart.