Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,3.5
॥
Devanāgarī
अतो यानि अन्यानि वीर्यवन्ति कर्माणि यथा अग्नेः मन्थनम् आजेः सरणम् दृढस्य धनुषः आयमनम् अप्राणन् अनपानन् तानि करोति एतस्य हेतोर् व्यानम् एव उद्गीथम् उपासीत
Transliteration (IAST)
ato yāni anyāni vīryavanti karmāṇi yathā agneḥ manthanam ājeḥ saraṇam dṛḍhasya dhanuṣaḥ āyamanam aprāṇan anapānan tāni karoti etasya hetor vyānam eva udgītham upāsīta
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अतोatotherefore; from here
यानिyānithose who; those that
अन्यानिanyāniother; others
वीर्यवन्तिvīryavantithe strenuous (vīryavat); requiring strength; the forceful
कर्माणिkarmāṇideeds; rites
यथाyathāhow; like
अग्नेःagneḥof fire; Agni
मन्थनम्manthanamthe kindling by friction (manthana — 'churning'); the rubbing out [of fire]; the friction
आजेःājeḥof a contest (āji — 'a race'); of the race; of the running match
सरणम्saraṇamthe running (saraṇa); the dash; the swift run
दृढस्यdṛḍhasyaof the taut; of the stiff
धनुषःdhanuṣaḥof a bow; of the weapon
आयमनम्āyamanamthe drawing (ā-√yam); the tension; the stretching [of the bow]
अप्राणन्aprāṇannot breathing in; without in-breath
अनपानन्anapānannot breathing out; without out-breath
तानिtānithose; these
करोतिkarotimakes; he places
एतस्यetasyaof this; from this
हेतोर्hetorby reason; for the ground
व्यानम्vyānamthe vyāna; the diffusing breath
एवevaindeed; surely
उद्गीथम्udgīthamthe udgītha; the exalted chant
उपासीतupāsītalet him venerate; one should contemplate
Translation
Other mighty deeds too — the kindling of fire by friction, the dash of a race, the drawing of a stiff bow — men perform neither breathing in nor breathing out. For this reason it is the vyāna that is to be venerated as the udgītha.
Version
9b6ece961745 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A proof drawn from life: ato yāny anyāni vīryavanti karmāṇi — "and the other mighty deeds": agner manthanam — the drawing of fire by friction, ājeḥ saraṇam — the dash of a race, dṛḍhasya dhanuṣa āyamanam — the drawing of a stiff bow — all are performed on the held breath: aprāṇann anapānan. Anyone who has ever drawn a bowstring or lifted a weight knows that in the instant of utmost effort the breath stops of itself.
Out of this observation the Upaniṣad draws a jewel of a conclusion: strength lives in the vyāna: the greatest acts — fire, victory, the shot (and the udgītha!) — are born at the point of the breaths' equilibrium; there a man is gathered into one, undivided — and the undivided, as we already know, is invulnerable and mighty. Hence the vyāna deserves veneration as the udgītha: it is the bodily name of that collectedness out of which all vīrya springs.