उपनिषद् · Aitareya 1,3.8
॥
देवनागरी
तत् मनसा अजिघृक्षत् तत् न अशक्नोत् मनसा ग्रहीतुम् सः यत् ह एनत् मनसा अग्रहैष्यत् ध्यात्वा हैव अन्नम् अत्रप्स्यत्
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
tat manasā ajighṛkṣat tat na aśaknot manasā grahītum saḥ yat ha enat manasā agrahaiṣyat dhyātvā haiva annam atrapsyat
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
तत्tatthat; it
मनसाmanasāwith the mind; with thought
अजिघृक्षत्ajighṛkṣathe tried to seize; he wished to take
तत्tatthat; it
नnanot; no
अशक्नोत्aśaknothe was able; he had the power
मनसाmanasāwith the mind; with thought
ग्रहीतुम्grahītumto seize; to take
सःsaḥhe; that one
यत्yatwhen; that
हhaindeed; surely
एनत्enatthis; it
मनसाmanasāwith the mind; with thought
अग्रहैष्यत्agrahaiṣyatwould have seized; would have taken
ध्यात्वाdhyātvāhaving thought (from √dhyai — 'to contemplate'); having considered; having meditated
हैवhaivaprecisely then; verily
अन्नम्annamfood; nourishment
अत्रप्स्यत्atrapsyathe would have been satisfied; he would have mastered the food
अनुवाद
He wished to seize it with the mind — and could not seize it with the mind. If he had seized it with the mind, one would be satisfied with food merely by thinking [of it].
संस्करण
5c1dfb75bd3c · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 7:36:16 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The sixth attempt — manasā: with the mind. If thought could seize — dhyātvā haiva annam atrapsyat — "one would be full by thinking" (dhyātvā — from √dhyai: literally "having meditated"!).
The mind's miss is the most instructive for contemplatives: even dhyāna about food does not nourish. The mind is the greatest of graspers: it embraces worlds, builds and destroys universes of images — but its grip holds only images: mental bread has no calories. Here is the root of the Upaniṣads' sobriety towards every mentalism: a representation of reality is not reality; a concept of Brahman is not Brahman (the Kena: "not that which is thought by the mind"); and even an imagined humility is not humility.
It is telling that the mind misses after the skin: the inner faculty proved to be no nearer to food than the outer ones! Assimilation is not a matter of depth of representation but another kind of act altogether. Claimants are almost exhausted — and the parable's denouement will be pointedly "low".