उपनिषद् · Praśna 1.14
॥
देवनागरी
अन्नं वै प्रजापतिस् ततो ह वै तद्रेतः ।
तस्माद् इमाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्त इति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
annaṃ vai prajāpatis tato ha vai tadretaḥ |
tasmād imāḥ prajāḥ prajāyanta iti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
अन्नम् वैannam vaifood (anna); food; nourishment
प्रजापतिःprajāpatiḥPrajāpati; the lord of creatures
ततः ह वैtataḥ ha vaifrom it indeed; from this very source
तत् रेतःtat retaḥthe seed (retas); the seed of life; the germinal principle
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; out of it
इमाः प्रजाःimāḥ prajāḥthese beings; this progeny
प्रजायन्ते इतिprajāyante iti'they are born', thus; arise
अनुवाद
"Food indeed is Prajāpati; from it comes the seed itself, and from the seed these creatures are born."
संस्करण
e9a99778c545 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 8:35:21 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The last link of the chain is the most tangible: annaṁ vai prajāpatiḥ — "food is Prajāpati". The chain of the first question closes completely: Prajāpati → tapas → rayi and prāṇa → sun and moon → year → month → day-and-night → food → seed → creatures. To the question "whence are creatures born?" an answer is given in its full depth: from the seed — but the seed from food, food from the alternation of the seasons, the seasons from the two principles, the principles from the austerity of the Lord of creatures. The genealogy of every living thing goes back to the desire of God.
By calling food Prajāpati the Upaniṣad overturns the everyday view: eating is not "fuelling" but a link in a sacred chain, the substance of creation continuing the Creator's work in every body. Hence the Vedic culture of food: it is honoured, consecrated, offered before it is eaten; the Taittirīya Upaniṣad exclaims annaṁ na nindyāt — "let food not be reviled", annaṁ brahmeti — "food is Brahman".
And a quiet consequence for parents: retas, the seed, is the concentrate of the whole ladder — condensed time and food, prāṇa and rayi; the birth of a child is not a biological accident but the mouth of a river flowing from Prajāpati himself. So the summing-up of the first question is prepared — two closing verses on who has the world of Brahman open to him.