Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,2.7
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ ह यः एव अयम् मुख्यः प्राणः तम् उद्गीथम् उपासाम् चक्रिरे तम् ह असुराः ऋत्वा विदध्वंसुः यथा अश्मानम् आखणम् ऋत्वा विध्वंसेत एवम्
Transliteration (IAST)
atha ha yaḥ eva ayam mukhyaḥ prāṇaḥ tam udgītham upāsām cakrire tam ha asurāḥ ṛtvā vidadhvaṃsuḥ yathā aśmānam ākhaṇam ṛtvā vidhvaṃseta evam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
हhaindeed; surely
यःyaḥwho; the one who
एवevaindeed; surely
अयम्ayamthis; this one here
मुख्यःmukhyaḥthe chief (mukhya — 'principal, of the mouth'); the foremost; the eldest
प्राणःprāṇaḥthe prāṇa (prāṇa — the breath of life); the vital breath; breath
तम्tamit; that one
उद्गीथम्udgīthamthe udgītha; the exalted chant
उपासाम्upāsāmveneration; the contemplation
चक्रिरेcakrirethey made; they became
तम्tamit; that one
हhaindeed; surely
असुराःasurāḥthe asuras; the adversaries of the gods
ऋत्वाṛtvāhaving rushed upon (from √ṛ — 'to dash at'); having run against; having struck
विदध्वंसुःvidadhvaṃsuḥthey were shattered (vi-√dhvaṁs, perfect); they flew apart; they crumbled
यथाyathāhow; like
अश्मानम्aśmānama stone (aśman); a rock; a block of stone
आखणम्ākhaṇamthe unbreakable (ā-khaṇa); the unsplittable; whole
ऋत्वाṛtvāhaving rushed upon (from √ṛ — 'to dash at'); having run against; having struck
विध्वंसेतvidhvaṃsetait would be shattered; it would be destroyed
एवम्evamthus; in this way
Translation
Then they began to venerate as the udgītha the chief prāṇa itself. The asuras, rushing upon it, were shattered — as a [clod of earth] would be shattered on striking an unbreakable stone.
Version
f502587866b5 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
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The victorious position: atha ha ya evāyaṁ mukhyaḥ prāṇaḥ — "and then the chief prāṇa itself": mukhya prāṇa is the root vital breath, not a function among functions (not smell, not speech) but life itself, by which all the functions live (the Praśna: the king whom all serve; the Kena: "the breath of breath"). And upon it the asuras' shooting ends: tam hāsurā ṛtvā vidadhvaṁsuḥ — "rushing upon it, they were shattered" — yathāśmānam ākhaṇam ṛtvā vidhvaṁseta — "as a [clod], striking an unbreakable stone".
Why is evil powerless against the chief prāṇa? What can be pierced is what chooses between two things (fragrant and foul, true and false): duality is the chink for an arrow. Root life does not choose — it simply quickens: the saint and the sinner, the honest eye and the sly one, alike, without preference, like the sun of the Kaṭha that "is not stained by the defects of eyes". The undivided is invulnerable; evil is shattered on that in which there is no crack.