The verse and its meaning · Upanishads · Taittiriya · Lessons for the Student

Jaws, Tongue, and Speech

Taittiriya Upanishad 1.3.4

अथाध्यात्मम् । अधरा हनुः पूर्वरूपम् । उत्तरा हनुरुत्तररूपम् । वाक्सन्धिः । जिह्वा सन्धानम् । इत्यध्यात्मम् । इतीमा महासँहिताः । य एवमेता महासँहिता व्याख्याता वेद । सन्धीयते प्रजया पशुभिः ब्रह्मवर्चसेनान्नाद्येन सुवर्गेण लोकेन

Meaning · English

In the body: lower jaw first, upper jaw second, speech their meeting, tongue the link. Knowing these great joinings, one is joined with children, cattle, sacred radiance, food, and heaven.

The last pair in the series sits inside one's own mouth. The two jaws are the two sides that come together. Speech is what happens where they meet, and the tongue is what brings them into contact. With this, the teacher closes the list and calls all five pairs the great joinings: world, lights, learning, family, body. Someone who understands them is joined in turn to children, herds, the brightness that comes from sacred study, food to eat, and the heavenly world.

Picture a zipper. Two rows of teeth sit apart and do nothing. Pull the slider and they lock into one closed seam. The lower and upper jaw are the two rows, the closed seam is speech, and the tongue is the slider moving between them and making the meeting happen.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Mother, Father, and Child · Taittiriya Upanishad 1.3.3
• Next: Guarding What Was Learned · Taittiriya Upanishad 1.4.1
• All of Upanishads · Ask Krishna about it

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