Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,11.2
॥
Devanāgarī
सः ह उवाच भगवन्तम् वै अहम् एभिः सर्वैः आर्त्विज्यैः पर्यैषिषम् भगवतः वै अहम् अवित्त्या अन्यान् अवृषि
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ ha uvāca bhagavantam vai aham ebhiḥ sarvaiḥ ārtvijyaiḥ paryaiṣiṣam bhagavataḥ vai aham avittyā anyān avṛṣi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
हhaindeed; surely
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
भगवन्तम्bhagavantamthe venerable one; the esteemed one
वैvaiverily; indeed
अहम्ahamI; I myself
एभिःebhiḥby them; with them
सर्वैःsarvaiḥall; with all
आर्त्विज्यैःārtvijyaiḥwith priestly offices; with the ṛtvik services
पर्यैषिषम्paryaiṣiṣamI searched (aorist of pari-√iṣ); I sought about; I searched everywhere
भगवतःbhagavataḥthe venerable one; from the venerable one
वैvaiverily; indeed
अहम्ahamI; I myself
अवित्त्याavittyānot having found (a-vittvā); not having discovered; without finding
अन्यान्anyānothers; others
अवृषिavṛṣiI chose (aorist of √vṛ); I selected; has assigned
Translation
He said: "It was your honour I sought for all these priestly offices; and not finding your honour, I chose others."
Version
d9eaca6b2cea · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:31:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The king's admission: bhagavantaṁ vā aham ebhiḥ sarvair ārtvijyaiḥ paryaiṣiṣam — "it was your honour I sought for all these priestly offices": bhagavato vā aham avittyānyān avṛṣi — "not finding your honour, I chose others": Uṣasti's dream (verse 1.10.6: "would that he chose me for all the offices!") turns out to have been mutual: the king had been looking for precisely him — and had not found him (a starving wanderer with no address!).
Fate has woven a pattern: calamity took the master out of sight, and calamity again (by way of the beans!) brought him to the altar in mid-service: an invitation that never arrived caught up with the invited. Behind the pattern lies the Upaniṣads' quiet faith: the worthy work and the worthy man seek each other, and the obstacles form part of the route of their meeting. Now it remains for the king to mend his enlistment without wronging those already chosen: the next verse gives a solution worthy of both king and master.