यत् सप्तान्नानि मेधया तपसा अजनयत् पिता एकम् अस्य साधारणम् द्वे देवान् अभाजयत् त्रीणि आत्मने अकुरुत पशुभ्यः एकम् प्रायच्छत् तस्मिन् सर्वम् प्रतिष्ठितम् यत् च प्राणिति यत् च न कस्मात् तानि न क्षीयन्ते अद्यमानानि सर्वदा यः वै ताम् अक्षितिम् वेद सः अन्नम् अत्ति प्रतीकेन सः देवान् अपिगच्छति सः ऊर्जम् उपजीवति इति श्लोकाः
yat saptānnāni medhayā tapasā ajanayat pitā ekam asya sādhāraṇam dve devān abhājayat trīṇi ātmane akuruta paśubhyaḥ ekam prāyacchat tasmin sarvam pratiṣṭhitam yat ca prāṇiti yat ca na kasmāt tāni na kṣīyante adyamānāni sarvadā yaḥ vai tām akṣitim veda saḥ annam atti pratīkena saḥ devān apigacchati saḥ ūrjam upajīvati iti ślokāḥ
"Seven foods the Father begot by intelligence and by austerity: one is common to all; two he apportioned to the gods; three he made for himself; one he gave to the animals. Upon them all is established, both what breathes and what does not. Why then are they not exhausted, though eaten continually? He who knows this inexhaustibility eats food with his mouth, goes to the gods and lives by strength." So run the verses.
9a6bf5a5ba92 · publicado 27 jul 2026, 0:45:06 UTC
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The fifth brāhmaṇa opens with a riddle in verse — about the seven foods of Father Prajāpati. Their inventory is given like a distribution list of creation: one food is common (the ordinary fare of all beings), two are for the gods (the sacrificial ones), three for himself (mind, speech and breath, as will be explained below), one for the animals (milk). The world is reckoned as a meal: "upon them all is established".
And at the heart of the riddle is the question of questions for any economy: "why are they not exhausted, though eaten continually?" The Upaniṣad will answer it in the exposition (1.5.2): the inexhaustibility is made by the man who gives. For now, mark the Father's own order: having begotten the foods "by intelligence and austerity" (medhayā tapasā), his first act is to share — a common portion, a portion for the gods, a portion for the beasts. The Creator institutes the world as a distribution; stinginess will appear later, and from below.