Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,3.11
॥
Devanāgarī
याम् दिशम् अभिष्टोष्यन् स्यात् ताम् दिशम् उपधावेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
yām diśam abhiṣṭoṣyan syāt tām diśam upadhāvet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
याम्yāmwhich; that
दिशम्diśama quarter of space (diś); the direction; a region of the sky
अभिष्टोष्यन्abhiṣṭoṣyanabout to sing praise; being about to chant
स्यात्syātcould be; it would become
ताम्tāmit; that
दिशम्diśama quarter of space (diś); the direction; a region of the sky
उपधावेत्upadhāvetlet him resort; let him turn to
Translation
In whatever quarter of space he intends to sing praise, to that quarter let him resort.
Version
319f8ca7eaa4 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The last of the refuges is the quarter of space itself: yāṁ diśam abhiṣṭoṣyan syāt tāṁ diśam upadhāvet — "in whatever quarter he will praise, to that quarter resort": even the space into which the song will fly is not a void but a living addressee, a guardian-diś with a face of its own (the Aitareya: out of hearing came forth the quarters of space!).
So the circle is closed: melody, verse, seer, deity, metre, stoma, quarter — seven refuges, and before uttering a sound the singer has bowed seven times and asked leave. A chant grown out of seven bows cannot fail of its end: it is already woven of relations with everything toward which it flies. The lesson reaches far beyond ritual: begin every work by resorting — to the work, to its teachers, to its Addressee; a work that has been resorted to carries the worker itself.