Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t6.48

v1.c7.s10.t6.48

In addition, such concepts as “anda” and “annam” were also mentioned in the Upanishads, which are also related to material elements. The so-called “anda” is shaped like an egg, and is directly responsible for generating all kinds of concrete phenomena in the world. According to *Chāndogya Upanishad* 3.19.1-2, “In the beginning this universe was non-existent. It became existent. It grew. It turned into an egg (anda). The egg lay for the period of a year. Then it broke open. Of the two halves of the egg-shell, one half was of silver, the other of gold. That which was of silver became the earth; that which was of gold, heaven. What was the thick membrane of the white became the mountains; the thin membrane of the yolk, the must and the clouds. The veins became the rivers; the fluid in the bladder, the ocean.”