Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,2.4
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ ह चक्षुः उद्गीथम् उपासाम् चक्रिरे तद् ह असुराः पाप्मना विविधुः तस्मात् तेन उभयम् पश्यति दर्शनीयम् च अदर्शनीयम् च पाप्मना हि एतत् विद्धम्
Transliteration (IAST)
atha ha cakṣuḥ udgītham upāsām cakrire tad ha asurāḥ pāpmanā vividhuḥ tasmāt tena ubhayam paśyati darśanīyam ca adarśanīyam ca pāpmanā hi etat viddham
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
हhaindeed; surely
चक्षुःcakṣuḥthe eye; sight
उद्गीथम्udgīthamthe udgītha; the exalted chant
उपासाम्upāsāmveneration; the contemplation
चक्रिरेcakrirethey made; they became
तद्tadthat; this
हhaindeed; surely
असुराःasurāḥthe asuras; the adversaries of the gods
पाप्मनाpāpmanāby sin; by defilement
विविधुःvividhuḥthey pierced; they struck
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
तेनtenawith that; by means of this
उभयम्ubhayamboth; the double
पश्यतिpaśyatisees; looks
दर्शनीयम्darśanīyamthe comely (darśanīya — 'worth seeing'); the good-looking; pleasing to the eye
चcaand; as well as
अदर्शनीयम्adarśanīyamthe uncomely (a-darśanīya); the ill-favoured; unworthy of a look
चcaand; as well as
पाप्मनाpāpmanāby sin; by defilement
हिhiindeed; truly
एतत्etatthis; all this
विद्धम्viddhampierced; struck
Translation
Then they began to venerate the eye as the udgītha — but the asuras pierced it with evil. Hence with it men see both the comely and the uncomely: for it has been pierced with evil.
Version
9af6d3c585cd · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third position is cakṣus, sight: the wound is the same: darśanīyaṁ cādarśanīyaṁ ca — "both what is worth seeing and what is not": the eye, designed as a window of light (in the Aitareya the Sun came forth out of sight!), has been pierced — and has taken to gaping: reaching for the unseemly with the same greed as for the seemly.
The formula, repeated three times, trains our view of our own faculties: each is the field of a battle once lost; its traces are in every day — an overheard slander, a sidelong glance, a crooked word escaped. The Upaniṣad does not moralize — it maps: here are the breaches; let us go on and look for what is whole.