Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,1.2
॥
Devanāgarī
एषाम् भूतानाम् पृथिवी रसः पृथिव्याः आपः रसः अपाम् ओषधयः रसः ओषधीनाम् पुरुषः रसः पुरुषस्य वाक् रसः वाचः ऋक् रसः ऋचः साम रसः साम्नः उद्गीथः रसः
Transliteration (IAST)
eṣām bhūtānām pṛthivī rasaḥ pṛthivyāḥ āpaḥ rasaḥ apām oṣadhayaḥ rasaḥ oṣadhīnām puruṣaḥ rasaḥ puruṣasya vāk rasaḥ vācaḥ ṛk rasaḥ ṛcaḥ sāma rasaḥ sāmnaḥ udgīthaḥ rasaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एषाम्eṣāmfor them; of these
भूतानाम्bhūtānāmof beings; of creatures
पृथिवीpṛthivīthe earth; the earthly world
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
पृथिव्याःpṛthivyāḥout of the earth; from the earth
आपःāpaḥthe waters; drops of water
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
अपाम्apāmof the waters; of the water element
ओषधयःoṣadhayaḥplants; herbs
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
ओषधीनाम्oṣadhīnāmof plants; of herbs
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥman; Puruṣa
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
पुरुषस्यpuruṣasyathe man; of the Puruṣa
वाक्vākspeech; the word
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
वाचःvācaḥof speech; of speech
ऋक्ṛkthe ṛc (ṛc — a verse of the Ṛg-veda); the sacred verse; the ṛc-hymn
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
ऋचःṛcaḥthe ṛcs; the hymns of the Ṛg-veda
सामsāmathe sāman (sāman — a chant of the Sāma-veda); the chant; the melody
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
साम्नःsāmnaḥthe samāna; of the chant
उद्गीथःudgīthaḥudgītha; the exalted chant
रसःrasaḥthe essence, the sap (rasa — 'taste, essence'); the extract; the flower and the pith
Translation
The essence of these beings is the earth; the essence of the earth is the waters; the essence of the waters is the plants; the essence of the plants is man; the essence of man is speech; the essence of speech is the ṛc; the essence of the ṛc is the sāman; the essence of the sāman is the udgītha.
Version
46fb45bba419 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
An eightfold ladder of essences — rasa after rasa: out of all that exists the earth is pressed (the support of beings), out of the earth the waters (its sap), out of the waters the plants, out of the plants man (the flower of what the plants feed), out of man speech (the flower of man!), out of speech the ṛc (the sacred verse, the flower of speech), out of the ṛc the sāman (the chant, the flower of the verse), out of the sāman the udgītha. The word rasa — "sap, taste, essence" — is the very one with which the Taittirīya named Brahman: raso vai saḥ; the Chāndogya's ladder is the pressing out of the world's savour to the last drop.
The direction of the ladder is astonishing: the essence of man is neither body nor thought but speech; and the essence of speech is not meaning as we understand it but the sacred verse, and above the verse the chant: music is deeper than the word! For the singers of the Sāma-veda this is a confession: when the word has been sung to its limit, pure offering remains — the udgītha, and its soul is Oṁ. The whole universe folded into one syllable — this is what the udgātṛ sings.