Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,8.6
॥
Devanāgarī
तम् ह शिलकः शालावत्यः चैकितायनम् दाल्भ्यम् उवाच अप्रतिष्ठितम् वै किल ते दाल्भ्य साम यः तु एतर्हि ब्रूयात् मूर्धा ते विपतिष्यति इति मूर्धा ते विपतेत् इति
Transliteration (IAST)
tam ha śilakaḥ śālāvatyaḥ caikitāyanam dālbhyam uvāca apratiṣṭhitam vai kila te dālbhya sāma yaḥ tu etarhi brūyāt mūrdhā te vipatiṣyati iti mūrdhā te vipatet iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तम्tamit; 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
अप्रतिष्ठितम्apratiṣṭhitamit is not established (a-pratiṣṭhita — 'without support'); having no foundation; unsupported
वैvaiverily; indeed
किलkilaindeed; as they say
तेteto you; for you
दाल्भ्यdālbhyaO Dālbhya; Dālbhya
सामsāmathe sāman; the chant
यःyaḥwho; the one who
तुtubut; surely
एतर्हिetarhithen; now
ब्रूयात्brūyāthe would say; he would utter
मूर्धाmūrdhāthe head (mūrdhan); the head; the crown
तेteto you; for you
विपतिष्यतिvipatiṣyatiit will fall off (vi-√pat, future); it will drop away; it will fall
इतिitithus; how
मूर्धाmūrdhāthe head (mūrdhan); the head; the crown
तेteto you; for you
विपतेत्vipatetit would fall; it would drop off
इतिitithus; how
Translation
Then Śilaka Śālāvatya said to Caikitāyana Dālbhya: "Your sāman, Dālbhya, is unestablished after all! And were someone now to say, 'your head shall fall off' — your head would fall off!"
Version
1b0d15a0ed96 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:28:09 PM UTC
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Śilaka's verdict: apratiṣṭhitaṁ vai kila te dālbhya sāma — "your sāman has no support, Dālbhya": a chain broken off short of the foundation is a building upon the unexamined: a sāman "hung from heaven" hangs, for heaven itself has a going that Dālbhya has not named. And then the dread formula of the disputations: mūrdhā te vipatiṣyatīti mūrdhā te vipatet — "were someone to say 'your head shall fall off', it would fall": in Vedic culture, ignorance of a foundation passed off as a foundation is a mortal vulnerability: the disputant's head is the pledge on his chain of grounds (this fearful stake sounds more than once in the Upaniṣads — and in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka the head of Śākalya does fall!).
The lesson is harsh and exact: knowledge not thought through to the end is not "almost knowledge" but a suspended building: to live (and to sing) upon it is dangerous. Honest Dālbhya will now do the one right thing — ask to be taught.