Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,6.2
॥
Devanāgarī
अन्तरिक्षम् एव ऋक् वायुः साम तद् एतत् एतस्याम् ऋचि अध्यूढम् साम तस्मात् ऋचि अध्यूढम् साम गीयते अन्तरिक्षम् एव सा वायुः अमः तत् साम
Transliteration (IAST)
antarikṣam eva ṛk vāyuḥ sāma tad etat etasyām ṛci adhyūḍham sāma tasmāt ṛci adhyūḍham sāma gīyate antarikṣam eva sā vāyuḥ amaḥ tat sāma
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अन्तरिक्षम्antarikṣamthe intervening space; the mid-region
एवevaindeed; surely
ऋक्ṛkthe ṛc; a hymn of the Ṛg-veda
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind; Vāyu
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
तद्tadthat; this
एतत्etatthis; all this
एतस्याम्etasyāmin this [one]; upon this
ऋचिṛciin the ṛc; in the hymn
अध्यूढम्adhyūḍhamlaid upon; placed above
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
ऋचिṛciin the ṛc; in the hymn
अध्यूढम्adhyūḍhamlaid upon; placed above
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
गीयतेgīyateis sung; is performed
अन्तरिक्षम्antarikṣamthe intervening space; the mid-region
एवevaindeed; surely
साsāshe; that one
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind; Vāyu
अमःamaḥAma; the gatherer of all
तत्tatthat; this
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
Translation
The mid-region is the ṛc, Vāyu is the sāman. This sāman is laid upon this ṛc; therefore the sāman is sung as laid upon the ṛc. The mid-region is "sā", Vāyu is "ama": that makes "sāma".
Version
5d94ac7b75f5 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
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The second couple: antarikṣam — the mid-region (sā, the expanse that is the ground) and vāyuḥ — the wind (ama, the power that flies within the expanse). The pair is exact: wind is unthinkable without space, space is dead without wind: the support and the motion, the stage and the actor.
The khaṇḍa's series climbs the storeys of the world (earth → mid-region → sky → stars), and on each the same grammar of two: the feminine "sā" is the container, the masculine "ama" the agent; their sum is sāma, a song. The world read as a song-book: on every tier its own duet, and all the duets sing one word.