Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,10.9
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रस्तोतर् या देवता प्रस्तावम् अन्वायत्ता ताम् चेद् अविद्वान् प्रस्तोष्यसि मूर्धा ते विपतिष्यति इति
Transliteration (IAST)
prastotar yā devatā prastāvam anvāyattā tām ced avidvān prastoṣyasi mūrdhā te vipatiṣyati iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रस्तोतर्prastotarO prastotṛ; the priest who begins the chant
याyāyā; the syllable yā
देवताdevatāthe deity; divine power
प्रस्तावम्prastāvamthe prastāva (prastāva — the introductory part of the sāman); the opening chant; the introduction
अन्वायत्ताanvāyattāis bound up [with it] (anu-ā-yatta — 'holding on after'); standing behind it; connected with it
ताम्tāmit; that
चेद्cedif; but if
अविद्वान्avidvānnot knowing (a-vidvas); the unknowing; without knowledge
प्रस्तोष्यसिprastoṣyasiyou will sing the prelude (future of pra-√stu); you will begin the prastāva; you will sing the prelude
मूर्धाmūrdhāthe head; the summit
तेteto you; for you
विपतिष्यतिvipatiṣyatiit will fall off; it will drop away
इतिitithus; how
Translation
"Prastotṛ! If you sing the prastāva without knowing the deity that belongs to the prastāva — your head shall fall off!"
Version
2d005c03cf74 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:31:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first challenge: prastotar yā devatā prastāvam anvāyattā — "prastotṛ! that deity which belongs to the prastāva (anvāyattā — 'follows upon', stands behind it)" — tāṁ ced avidvān prastoṣyasi — "if you sing it not knowing him" — mūrdhā te vipatiṣyati — "your head shall fall off!"
The formula from the connoisseurs' dispute (khaṇḍa 8) is turned now not upon a fellow-talker but upon an officiating priest a moment before he acts: to sing without knowing to Whom and by What the song is held is deadly. Uṣasti stakes his own head as well: one who threw such a challenge without knowledge would himself perish (the law of the disputation cuts both ways). What this shout arrests is craft without knowing: mechanical service in which the sign is sung without the Signified. The singers, to their credit, fall silent (verse 1.10.11): they know the worth of the formula — and the measure of their own ignorance.