उपनिषद् · Aitareya 1,3.1
॥
देवनागरी
सः ईक्षत इमे नु लोकाः च लोकपालाः च अन्नम् एभ्यः सृजा इति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
saḥ īkṣata ime nu lokāḥ ca lokapālāḥ ca annam ebhyaḥ sṛjā iti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सःsaḥHe; that one
ईक्षतīkṣatabeheld; considered
इमेimethese; the present
नुnunow; then
लोकाःlokāḥworlds; realms
चcaand; as well as
लोकपालाःlokapālāḥthe guardians of the worlds; the rulers of the worlds
चcaand; as well as
अन्नम्annamfood (anna); nourishment; sustenance
एभ्यःebhyaḥfor them (etad, dative plural); for these; for these [beings]
सृजाsṛjālet Me create; let Me bring forth
इतिitithus; so saying
अनुवाद
He beheld: "Here are the worlds and the guardians of the worlds; let Me now create food for them!"
संस्करण
38d7de256398 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 7:36:16 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The Creator's third look — and the same verb again: sa īkṣata — "He beheld": every new tier of creation opens with an act of seeing care: first the worlds, then the guardians, now annam ebhyaḥ sṛjā iti — "let Me create food for them": the house is built, the tenants are settled — they must be fed.
The order of creation in the Aitareya is an order of care: the Creator behaves like a householder finishing his establishment according to the needs of the household: He saw the homeless — He gave a body; He saw the hungry — He creates food. Nothing is made before there is need of it, and every need is heard: the hunger set within the creature (verse 5) is not left without an answer — the very next act of creation answers it.
Herein is a quiet theology of petition: the creature's need and the Creator's care are correlated from the beginning, as question and answer; the prayer for bread (any of them: from the lowing of the herd to "give us this day our daily bread") is written into the very mechanics of the universe and has had an addressee since the first "He beheld".