Prashna Upanishad: Verse 2.8

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

देवानामसि वह्नितमः पितृणां प्रथमा स्वधा । ऋषीणां चरितं सत्यमथर्वाङ्गिरसामसि ॥८॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

devānām | asi | vahnitamaḥ | pitṛṇām | prathamā | svadhā | ṛṣīṇām | caritam | satyam | atharvāṅgirasām | asi ||

Recitation with translationPrashna Upanishad 2.8

IAST Transliteration

devānām asi vahnitamaḥ pitṛṇāṃ prathamā svadhā | ṛṣīṇāṃ caritaṃ satyam atharvāṅgirasām asi ||8||

Translation

तुम भगवान के सबसे बड़े दूत हो। तुम पितरों को जो चढ़ाया जाता है उसमें पहले हो। तुम रिशियों के सच्चे आचरण हो। तुम अथर्व रिशियों के भी हो।

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Academic Translation

You are the foremost carrier of the gods; you are the first svadha (offering) to the ancestors; you are the truth of the conduct of the seers; you belong to the Atharvangirasas.

Verse Context

• Prana as the universal carrier of all offerings and sustainer of all realms (divine, ancestral, and seer)
• Mahavakya: While not a mahavakya itself, this verse supports the foundational Vedantic principle that the individual vital force (prana) is non-different from the universal sustaining power of Brahman, aligning with 'Ayam Atma Brahma' — that this very life-force IS the Self which IS Brahman.
• Atharva Veda
• Shaunakiya (traditionally associated with sage Pippalada) Shakha
• Chandas: Anushtubh (8 syllables per pada)