Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,1.5
॥
Devanāgarī
वाक् एव ऋक् प्राणः साम ओम् इति एतत् अक्षरम् उद्गीथः तद् वा एतन् मिथुनम् यत् वाक् च प्राणः च ऋक् च साम च
Transliteration (IAST)
vāk eva ṛk prāṇaḥ sāma om iti etat akṣaram udgīthaḥ tad vā etan mithunam yat vāk ca prāṇaḥ ca ṛk ca sāma ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वाक्vākspeech; the word
एवevaindeed; surely
ऋक्ṛkthe ṛc; a hymn of the Ṛg-veda
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa; the vital breath
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
ओम्omoṁ; the sacred syllable
इतिitithus; how
एतत्etatthis; all this
अक्षरम्akṣaramthe syllable; the letter
उद्गीथःudgīthaḥudgītha; the exalted chant
तद्tadthat; this
वाvāverily; surely
एतन्etanthis; the present
मिथुनम्mithunama pair, a couple (mithuna — 'wedlock'); a dyad; the union of two
यत्yatwhich; that which
वाक्vākspeech; the word
चcaand; as well as
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa; the vital breath
चcaand; as well as
ऋक्ṛkthe ṛc; a hymn of the Ṛg-veda
चcaand; as well as
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
चcaand; as well as
Translation
Speech indeed is the ṛc; breath is the sāman; this syllable Oṁ is the udgītha. Here is that pair: speech and breath, the ṛc and the sāman.
Version
fa4042866b68 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The answer to "which one exactly": vāg evark — "speech is the ṛc": not a verse in a book but the very faculty of speech; prāṇaḥ sāma — "breath is the sāman": not a chant in notes but life itself, the bearer of sound: every melody is breath given shape; om ity etad akṣaram udgīthaḥ — "the syllable Oṁ is the udgītha". The sacred texts are brought back to their living sources in man: the Ṛg-veda lives in everyone who speaks, the Sāma-veda in everyone who breathes.
tad vā etan mithunam — "here is the pair": speech and breath, word and life — a mithuna, a couple, a wedlock: a word without breath is mute, a breath without word is speechless; all the meaningful sounding of the world is their marriage. And the place of their wedding — the next verse will say — is the syllable Oṁ: where life and word are joined, there stands the Name.