उपनिषद् · Prāṇāgnihotra 1.6
॥
देवनागरी
अन्नपतेऽन्नस्य नो धेह्यनमीवस्य शुष्मिणः । प्रप्रदातारं तारिष ऊर्जं नो धेहि द्विपदे चतुष्पदे
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
annapate'nnasya no dhehyanamīvasya śuṣmiṇaḥ | prapradātāraṃ tāriṣa ūrjaṃ no dhehi dvipade catuṣpade
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
अन्न-पते अन्नस्य नः धेहिanna-pate annasya naḥ dhehilord of food, give us food
अन्-अमीवस्य शुष्मिणःan-amīvasya śuṣmiṇaḥharmless, strengthening
प्र-प्र-दातारं तारिषpra-pra-dātāraṃ tāriṣaferry across the giver
ऊर्जं नः धेहि द्विपदे चतुष्पदेūrjaṃ naḥ dhehi dvipade catuṣpadegive us strength, to the two-footed and the four-footed
अनुवाद
Lord of food, give us food that is harmless, strengthening; ferry across the giver; give us strength — to the two-footed and the four-footed.
संस्करण
4e57574c28d2 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
A verse taken from the Ṛgveda and the Taittirīya; and it is, to my mind, the best of all table-prayers ever composed. Let us examine what is asked in it. First: annam anamīvasya śuṣmiṇaḥ, "food that is harmless, strengthening." Not abundant and not tasty, but such as does no harm and gives strength.
Second: pra-pradātāraṃ tāriṣa, "ferry across the giver." That is, one asks not for oneself, but for the one who gave. This second point deserves noting, for it is unexpected and excellent.
A person, sitting down to eat, asks a blessing not for himself, but for the one who fed him. The prayer is turned from the receiver to the giver. Let us add the third: ūrjaṃ no dhehi dvipade catuṣpade, "give us strength, to the two-footed and the four-footed."
That is, one asks also for the livestock. The phrase "two-footed and four-footed" is a fixed one in Vedic prayers, meaning the whole household: people and animals together. The householder does not separate himself from the cows and does not pray for himself alone.
The Vaiṣṇava side has preserved this attitude toward animals more firmly than most, and for it the cow is an object of care, not of property. Hence this verse, to my mind, deserves being known by heart by everyone who sits down to a meal: it asks for what is needed, not for abundance; it asks for the provider before itself; and it does not forget those under the same roof who cannot speak.