Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,6.5
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यत् एतत् आदित्यस्य शुक्लम् भाः सा एव ऋक् अथ यत् नीलम् परःकृष्णम् तत् साम तद् एतत् एतस्याम् ऋचि अध्यूढम् साम तस्मात् ऋचि अध्यूढम् साम गीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yat etat ādityasya śuklam bhāḥ sā eva ṛk atha yat nīlam paraḥkṛṣṇam tat sāma tad etat etasyām ṛci adhyūḍham sāma tasmāt ṛci adhyūḍham sāma gīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यत्yatwhich; that which
एतत्etatthis; all this
आदित्यस्यādityasyaof the sun; of Āditya
शुक्लम्śuklamthe white (śukla); the bright; the snow-white
भाःbhāḥthe radiance (bhās); the light; the brilliance
साsāshe; that one
एवevaindeed; surely
ऋक्ṛkthe ṛc; a hymn of the Ṛg-veda
अथathathereupon; then
यत्yatwhich; that which
नीलम्nīlamthe blue (nīla); the dark blue; the blue-black
परःकृष्णम्paraḥkṛṣṇamthe utterly dark (paraḥ-kṛṣṇa — 'black beyond'); blacker than black; the deeply dark
तत्tatthat; this
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
Translation
Now the white shining of the sun is the ṛc; and what is blue, beyond-black [in it] is the sāman. This sāman is laid upon this ṛc; therefore the sāman is sung as laid upon the ṛc.
Version
acbd4099fd8e · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The gaze enters within the luminary: in the sun itself two are distinguished: śuklam bhāḥ — the "white shining" — the ṛc, the support; and nīlaṁ paraḥ-kṛṣṇam — the "blue, beyond-black" — the sāman, laid upon the whiteness. Contemplatives knew that dark core at the centre of the blinding disc — a depth within the light, deeper than the light itself.
The image astonishes by its reversal: the darkness is higher than the light, the dark is laid upon the white as a melody upon a verse! Not the darkness of absence but the darkness of surpassing: that which is darker than light because it is deeper than light (so the noon sky blackens at the zenith for a gaze that has pierced the blue). This "para-kṛṣṇa" depth in the heart of the radiance is the vestibule of the next verse: there, in the dark-golden core, Someone dwells.