उपनिषद् · Praśna 2.8
॥
देवनागरी
देवानाम् असि वह्नितमः पितॄणां प्रथमा स्वधा ।
ऋषीणां चरितं सत्यम् अथर्वाङ्गिरसाम् असि
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
devānām asi vahnitamaḥ pitṝṇāṃ prathamā svadhā /
ṛṣīṇāṃ caritaṃ satyam atharvāṅgirasām asi
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
देवानाम्devānāmamong the gods; for the devas
असिasiare you; you are
वह्नितमःvahnitamaḥthe best bearer [of oblations] (vahni-tama — 'most excellent of carriers'); the foremost carrier [of the sacrifice]; the best fire-charioteer
पितॄणाम्pitṝṇāmamong the fathers; for the pitṛs
प्रथमा स्वधाprathamā svadhāsvadhā (the call and the portion of the offering to the fathers); the funeral portion; the sacrificial cry to the fathers
ऋषीणाम्ṛṣīṇāmamong the seers; for the sages
चरितम्caritamthe observance, the practice (carita — 'walking'); the way of life; going
सत्यम्satyamtruth; truthfulness
अथर्वाङ्गिरसाम्atharvāṅgirasāmof the [descendants] of Atharvan and Aṅgiras (ancient priestly lines); of the Atharvans and Aṅgirases; of the lines of the fire-seers
असिasiare you; you are
अनुवाद
"You are the best bearer [of oblations] for the gods, the first svadhā for the fathers; you are the true observance of the seers, [the descendants] of Atharvan and Aṅgiras."
संस्करण
271da28422eb · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 8:35:21 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Three worlds of religion — and prāṇa at the core of each. devānām asi vahnitamaḥ — "for the gods you are the most excellent carrier": vahni is "the one who conveys", fire as the horse of the sacrifice; the offering reaches heaven only on the breath of a living fire and a living priest. pitṝṇāṁ prathamā svadhā — "for the fathers the first svadhā": svadhā is the call and the portion of the funerary offering; and the bond with the departed is alive only through the living — let the breath of a family fail, and there is no one left to remember.
ṛṣīṇāṁ caritaṁ satyam — "for the seers you are the true practice": caritam is "walking, way of life": the austerity of the seers is breath, the discipline of prāṇa, life itself as practice; atharvāṅgirasām asi — "you are [the possession] of Atharvan and Aṅgiras": the most ancient priestly lines, masters of fire and of healing mantras (the Atharva-veda bears their name).
So: the cult of the gods, the memory of the fathers, the austerity of the sages — all three storeys of the sacred stand upon one support: living breath. Religion does not hover above life: it breathes by it. Therefore care for life — one's own and every other — is no hindrance to the spirit but the keeping of the very bridge along which sacrifice, memory and austerity all travel.