Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,8.3
॥
Devanāgarī
सः ह शिलकः शालावत्यः चैकितायनम् दाल्भ्यम् उवाच हन्त त्वा पृच्छानि इति पृच्छ इति ह उवाच
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ ha śilakaḥ śālāvatyaḥ caikitāyanam dālbhyam uvāca hanta tvā pṛcchāni iti pṛccha iti ha uvāca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
हhaindeed; surely
शिलकःśilakaḥŚilaka; the sage Śilaka
शालावत्यःśālāvatyaḥŚālāvatya; a descendant of Śālāvat
चैकितायनम्caikitāyanamCaikitāyana; the sage Caikitāyana
दाल्भ्यम्dālbhyamDālbhya; the descendant of Dalbha
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
हन्तhantaso then; come now
त्वाtvāyou; to you
पृच्छानिpṛcchānishall I ask (from √prach, first person); let me ask; permit me to ask
इतिitithus; how
पृच्छpṛcchaask; put your question
इतिitithus; how
हhaindeed; surely
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
Translation
Śilaka Śālāvatya said to Caikitāyana Dālbhya: "Come then, may I question you?" — "Question," said he.
Version
a121b3ce9ae5 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The colloquy begins: hanta tvā pṛcchānīti — "come then, may I question you?" — pṛccheti hovāca — "question". A formula of courteous challenge: in the learned culture of the Vedas, to question is a right one asks leave for and an honour one confers: a question is not an assault but an invitation to display depth.
Now Śilaka will drive Dālbhya with the question "whither does it go up?" — along the chain of the sāman's supports — and we shall see the classic Upaniṣadic hunt: to press a subject with questions down to its last foundation, until the answerer strikes bottom and learns the boundary of his knowledge. The code of honour here: to learn one's boundary is no disgrace; the disgrace belongs only to one who will not own that a boundary exists.