Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,13.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अयम् वाव लोकः हाउकारः वायुः हाइकारः चन्द्रमाः अथकारः आत्मा इहकारः अग्निः ईकारः
Transliteration (IAST)
ayam vāva lokaḥ hāukāraḥ vāyuḥ hāikāraḥ candramāḥ athakāraḥ ātmā ihakāraḥ agniḥ īkāraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अयम्ayamthis; this one here
वावvāvatruly; indeed
लोकःlokaḥthe world; dwelling
हाउकारःhāukāraḥthe call 'hāu' (hāu-kāra — a stobha); the stobha hāu; the syllable hāu
वायुःvāyuḥthe wind; Vāyu
हाइकारःhāikāraḥthe call 'hāi' (hāi-kāra); the stobha hāi; the syllable hāi
चन्द्रमाःcandramāḥthe moon; Candra
अथकारःathakāraḥthe call 'atha' (atha-kāra); the stobha atha; the syllable atha
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the inner self
इहकारःihakāraḥthe call 'iha' (iha-kāra — 'here'); the stobha iha; the syllable iha
अग्निःagniḥfire; Agni
ईकारःīkāraḥthe call 'ī' (ī-kāra); the stobha ī; the syllable ī
Translation
This world is the [stobha] "hāu"; the wind is "hāi"; the moon is "atha"; the ātman is "iha"; fire is "ī".
Version
9345c32d5967 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:34:59 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The thirteenth khaṇḍa is a lexicon of the stobhas: stobhas are the interjected cries of sāman singing (hāu, hāi, atha…), the "meaningless" filler syllables with which a singer fills out and adorns a melody. The Upaniṣad denies them their meaninglessness: every cry is a name: hāu is this world, hāi the wind, atha the moon, iha the ātman ("here"! — the ātman is always "here"!), ī fire.
The sense of the lexicon runs deep: in sacred singing there is no chaff: even the interjections are addresses; a singer drawing out "hāu-hāi" is telling over the worlds like beads. To an attentive ear this is a lesson about the whole of life: in it too the "fillers" — transitions, pauses, sighs between tasks — are not voids but load-bearing structures, each with its own deity: learn to hear the names in your own interjections.