Wedding reading
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two
The Upanishads, tr. Max Müller (1884)
“Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two” by The Upanishads, tr. Max Müller (1884) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 25 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
But he felt no delight. Therefore a man who is lonely feels no delight. He wished for a second. He was so large as man and wife together. He then made this his Self to fall in two (pat), and thence arose husband (pati) and wife (patni).
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Older than every other reading on this shelf, and it says the same thing in three sentences: one was lonely, so one became two. Twenty-five seconds.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: the oldest account of marriage · two halves of one whole · loneliness answered · Hindu wedding · a Hindu family · Sanskrit · short · an interfaith wedding.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two” take to read aloud?
“Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two” takes about 25 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two” runs about 25 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.4.3 — the Self falls in two” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- The Metta Sutta — loving-kindness (verses 4–9)a minute and a halfThe Sutta-Nipâta, tr. V. Fausböll (1881)
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible
- Genesis 2:18–24a minute and a halfKing James Bible
- Ruth 1:16–17a30 secondsKing James Bible
- Song of Solomon 2:10–1340 secondsKing James Bible