उपनिषद् · Chāndogya 3,1.1
॥
देवनागरी
असौ वै आदित्यः देवमधु तस्य द्यौः एव तिरश्चीनवंशः अन्तरिक्षम् अपूपः मरीचयः पुत्राः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
asau vai ādityaḥ devamadhu tasya dyauḥ eva tiraścīnavaṃśaḥ antarikṣam apūpaḥ marīcayaḥ putrāḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
असौasauthat one; yonder
वैvaiverily; indeed
आदित्यःādityaḥthe sun; Āditya
देवमधुdevamadhuthe honey of the gods (deva-madhu); the divine honey; the honey for the gods
तस्यtasyait; concerning this
द्यौःdyauḥthe sky; the heavenly world
एवevaindeed; surely
तिरश्चीनवंशःtiraścīnavaṃśaḥthe crossbeam (tiraścīna-vaṁśa — the bar of the hive); the transverse pole [of the hive]; the cross-piece
अन्तरिक्षम्antarikṣamthe intervening space; the mid-region
अपूपःapūpaḥthe comb (apūpa — 'a cake', the waxen layer); the honeycomb; the layer of comb
मरीचयःmarīcayaḥthe rays; the beams
पुत्राःputrāḥthe brood (putra — 'sons', the bee-larvae); the offspring [of the hive]; the larvae
अनुवाद
Yonder sun is indeed the honey of the gods. Heaven is its cross-beam, the mid-region the honeycomb, the rays the brood.
संस्करण
1c28689d81e8 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 10:50:29 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The third adhyāya opens with the madhu-vidyā, "the science of honey", one of the loveliest contemplations of the Vedas: asau vā ādityo deva-madhu — "yonder sun is the honey of the gods": the luminary is seen as a hive! And the structure of the hive: dyaur eva tiraścīna-vaṁśaḥ — "heaven is the cross-beam" (the bar from which the hive is hung), antarikṣam apūpaḥ — "the mid-region is the comb" (the waxen sheet with its cells!), marīcayaḥ putrāḥ — "the rays are the brood" (the bee-grubs: the rays are larvae of light in the cells of the air!).
The image sets the tone of the whole adhyāya: the universe is a honey-farm: the sun is the sweetness gathered by all that is; the Vedas (in the verses to come) are the bees that carry in the nectar; the sun's radiances are the combs of ripened honey. Behind the apiary idyll lies a stern thought: light is nourishing, the sun is not only a lamp but food (the gods, 3.6 will say, "are satisfied by contemplating"!): the world is built as an amassing and a tasting of sweetness — and the science of honey will teach where to find it.