Upanishads · Chāndogya 1,13.3
॥
Devanāgarī
अनिरुक्तः त्रयोदशः स्तोभः संचरः हुङ्कारः
Transliteration (IAST)
aniruktaḥ trayodaśaḥ stobhaḥ saṃcaraḥ huṅkāraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनिरुक्तःaniruktaḥthe indefinite (a-nirukta — 'unpronounced'); the nameless; the inexplicable
त्रयोदशःtrayodaśaḥthe thirteenth (trayodaśa); the thirteenth [stobha]; the thirteenth
स्तोभःstobhaḥthe stobha; the ritual interjected sound
संचरःsaṃcaraḥthe shifting (saṁcara — 'roaming'); the passing; the sliding
हुङ्कारःhuṅkāraḥthe call 'huṁ' (huṁ-kāra); the huṁkāra; the syllable huṁ
Translation
But the thirteenth stobha is undefined: the shifting cry "huṁ".
Version
ce2a4316bf90 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:34:59 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The lexicon's last entry — and it is astonishing: aniruktaḥ trayodaśaḥ stobhaḥ — "the thirteenth stobha is unuttered, undefined": saṁcaraḥ huṁ-kāraḥ — "the shifting [roving] huṁ". Twelve cries were given names; the thirteenth is given none — deliberately: huṁ is the syllable of the Undefinable.
anirukta — "the unuttered" — is the technical name of the Transcendent in the language of liturgy (the Taittirīya: Brahman is "the uttered and the unuttered"): in the very fabric of the singing an opening has been left into the Inexpressible: a roving "huṁ", tied neither to a world nor to a god, is the sign of Him who is tied to nothing. The lexicon of stobhas is crowned with apophasis: twelve windows into the worlds, and one window into the Nameless: the honesty of a singing that knows not everything sung can be named.