Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,7.9
॥
Devanāgarī
कं ते कामम् आगायानि इति एषः हि एव कामागानस्य इष्टे यः एवम् विद्वान् साम गायति साम गायति
Transliteration (IAST)
kaṃ te kāmam āgāyāni iti eṣaḥ hi eva kāmāgānasya iṣṭe yaḥ evam vidvān sāma gāyati sāma gāyati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कंkaṃbliss; happiness
तेteto you; for you
कामम्kāmamas much as you wish; as you wish
आगायानिāgāyānishall I sing (ā-√gai, first person); let me chant; let me sing [the desire] home
इतिitithus; how
एषःeṣaḥthis; he
हिhiindeed; truly
एवevaindeed; surely
कामागानस्यkāmāgānasyaof the singing of desires (kāma-āgāna); of the chant that fetches desires; of the singing out of what is desired
इष्टेiṣṭehe rules; he governs
यःyaḥwho; the one who
एवम्evamthus; in this way
विद्वान्vidvānknowing; wise
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
गायतिgāyatisings; he chants
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
गायतिgāyatisings; he chants
Translation
"What desire shall I sing out for you?" For he indeed rules over the singing-out of desires who, knowing thus, sings the sāman — sings the sāman.
Version
577f833aba5a · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The question that is a warrant: kaṁ te kāmam āgāyānīti — "what desire shall I sing out for you?": the udgātṛ asks the sacrificer as a performer asks his patron: name what is to be delivered by song. eṣa hy eva kāmāgānasyeṣṭe — "for he rules over the singing-out of desires": ya evaṁ vidvān sāma gāyati — "he who, knowing thus, sings".
The doubled sāma gāyati is the khaṇḍa's seal. The upshot of the seventh khaṇḍa is immense: from the couples "sā" and "ama" to the Puruṣa in the sun and in the eye, to the oneness of their form and name, and to a singer whose song, knowing its Addressee, has become an all-powerful post for desires. The whole ladder rests on one recognition: a song has a Hearer, and He is the same One in the eyes of the hearers; a chant that has struck Him cannot fail to arrive.