Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,2.10
॥
Devanāgarī
तम् ह अङ्गिराः उद्गीथम् उपासाम् चक्रे एतम् उ एव अङ्गिरसम् मन्यन्ते अङ्गानाम् यत् रसः
Transliteration (IAST)
tam ha aṅgirāḥ udgītham upāsām cakre etam u eva aṅgirasam manyante aṅgānām yat rasaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तम्tamit; that one
हhaindeed; surely
अङ्गिराःaṅgirāḥAṅgiras (aṅgiras — the name of an ancient seer); the seer Aṅgiras; Aṅgiras
उद्गीथम्udgīthamthe udgītha; the exalted chant
उपासाम्upāsāmveneration; the contemplation
चक्रेcakreI have performed; He made
एतम्etamit; of this
उusurely; indeed
एवevaindeed; surely
अङ्गिरसम्aṅgirasamAṅgiras; the essence of the limbs
मन्यन्तेmanyantethey consider; they understand [it to be]
अङ्गानाम्aṅgānāmof the limbs (aṅga); the parts of the body; of the body's limbs
यत्yatwhich; that which
रसःrasaḥthe sap; essence
Translation
Aṅgiras venerated it as the udgītha; and him they take to be Aṅgiras — for it is the essence of the limbs.
Version
f6557bb9f84e · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
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A chain of name-etymologies begins: aṅgirā — Aṅgiras, the most ancient of the fire-seers — venerated the chief prāṇa, and himself became its name: aṅgānāṁ yad rasaḥ — "[the prāṇa] is the sap of the limbs" — aṅga-rasa — Aṅgiras! The seer's name is read as a title of the prāṇa: "Essence-of-the-Limbs".
The method of these folk etymologies (there will be three in a row) is not linguistics but contemplation: to a singer's ear a name opens from within like a flower: the great names of the past are congealed definitions of the one Life. He who venerated the prāṇa grew into it by name: the worshipper becomes what he worships (a law the Chāndogya will raise into a rule: yathā upāste tad eva bhavati).