Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,12.3
॥
Devanāgarī
तान् ह उवाच इह एव मा प्रातः उपसमीयत इति तत् ह बकः दाल्भ्यः ग्लावः वा मैत्रेयः प्रतिपालयाम् चकार
Transliteration (IAST)
tān ha uvāca iha eva mā prātaḥ upasamīyata iti tat ha bakaḥ dālbhyaḥ glāvaḥ vā maitreyaḥ pratipālayām cakāra
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तान्tānof them; those
हhaindeed; surely
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
इहihahere; in this world
एवevaindeed; surely
माmānot; me
प्रातःprātaḥin the morning; in the morning
उपसमीयतupasamīyatacome together (upa-sam-√i, imperative); assemble; gather
इतिitithus; how
तत्tatthat; this
हhaindeed; surely
बकःbakaḥBaka; the sage Baka
दाल्भ्यःdālbhyaḥDālbhya; a descendant of Dalbha
ग्लावःglāvaḥGlāva; the sage Glāva
वाvāverily; surely
मैत्रेयःmaitreyaḥMaitreya; a descendant of Mitra
प्रतिपालयाम्pratipālayāmthe waiting (prati-√pāl — 'to watch for a time'); the biding; the awaiting
चकारcakāraHe made; I have performed
Translation
He said to them: "Come together to me here in the morning." And Baka Dālbhya — or Glāva Maitreya — set himself to wait.
Version
671514b97446 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:34:59 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The white dog appoints a service: iha eva mā prātar upasamīyāta — "come together to me here in the morning": the liturgy is at dawn, the hour of the real services (the morning pressing of soma!). And an astonishing detail: tat ha… pratipālayāṁ cakāra — "[Baka] set himself to wait": the ṛṣi stays to watch — reverently, as one waits for a revelation, not for a spectacle.
A sage waiting for morning to see how dogs pray is an image of knowledge's genuine humility: Baka is a knower of the udgītha (we met him in khaṇḍa 2!), yet he does not think it beneath him to learn more from a vision. Revelation is indifferent as to whose lips it speaks by: the Kena showed gods who failed to recognise Brahman; the Chāndogya will show dogs who know the service — and a sage who learns from them.