उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 4.8
॥
देवनागरी
अरण्योर् निहितो जातवेदा गर्भ इव सुभृतो गर्भिणीभिः ।
दिवेदिव ईड्यो जागृवद्भिर् हविष्मद्भिर् मनुष्येभिर् अग्निः ॥
एतद् वै तत्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
araṇyor nihito jātavedā garbha iva subhṛto garbhiṇībhiḥ /
divediva īḍyo jāgṛvadbhir haviṣmadbhir manuṣyebhir agniḥ //
etad vai tat
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
अरण्योःaraṇyoḥin the two araṇis (araṇi — the fire-drilling sticks); in the pair of friction-sticks; in the kindling wood
निहितःnihitaḥplaced; hidden
जातवेदाःjātavedāḥJātavedas; the fire that knows all that is born
गर्भःgarbhaḥas an embryo; as a foetus
इवivahow; as it were
सुभृतःsubhṛtaḥcarefully borne (su-bhṛta); well kept; tenderly carried
गर्भिणीभिःgarbhiṇībhiḥby pregnant women; by those who bear a child; by mothers-to-be
दिवे-दिवेdive-diveday by day (dive-dive); daily; day by day
ईड्यःīḍyaḥworthy to be praised; venerated
जागृवद्भिःjāgṛvadbhiḥby the wakeful (from √jāgṛ); by those who do not sleep; by those who keep vigil
हविष्मद्भिःhaviṣmadbhiḥwith oblations (haviṣmat — 'possessing havis'); bringing the sacrificial butter; with gifts
मनुष्येभिःmanuṣyebhiḥby men; by human beings
अग्निःagniḥFire; Agni
एतत्etatthis; he
वैvaiverily; indeed
तत्tatthat; That
अनुवाद
As an embryo carefully carried by pregnant women, Jātavedas lies hidden in the two fire-sticks; day by day he is to be honoured by wakeful men with oblations. This, truly, is That.
संस्करण
e2c53be969b3 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
A third image of hidden presence — fire in the araṇis, the two sticks for drawing out the sacrificial flame. araṇyor nihito jātavedāḥ — "in the two araṇis Jātavedas is laid" ("knower of what is born" is a name of fire): the flame is not visible, but it is there — like garbha iva subhṛto garbhiṇībhiḥ — "an embryo carefully carried by pregnant women". A comparison of astonishing tenderness: the hidden fire does not merely "exist" in the wood — it is being carried to term, and the world that bears the divine spark within it is like a woman carrying a child.
dive-diva īḍyaḥ — "day by day to be honoured": the hidden must be nursed daily; jāgṛvadbhir haviṣmadbhir manuṣyebhiḥ — "by wakeful men, with oblations": two conditions — wakefulness (not to sleep through the spark) and sacrifice (to feed it). Fire is drawn from the sticks by friction — by the constancy of effort; so too the presence in the heart is manifested not by a single burst but by the daily warm labour of attention and offering.
The series of verses 77–79 moves from the cosmic to the domestic: the First-born — the Boundless — the fire in the sticks at a family hearth. The refrain equalizes them: this too is That. The Highest is present on every storey of the world, and a small household rite performed with a wakeful heart touches the same mystery as the contemplation of the First-born.