Upanishads · Chāndogya 2,8.3
॥
Devanāgarī
दुग्धे अस्मै वाक् दोहम् यः वाचः दोहः अन्नवान् अन्नादः भवति यः एतत् एवम् विद्वान् वाचि सप्तविधम् सामोपास्ते
Transliteration (IAST)
dugdhe asmai vāk doham yaḥ vācaḥ dohaḥ annavān annādaḥ bhavati yaḥ etat evam vidvān vāci saptavidham sāmopāste
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दुग्धेdugdhehe milks; he draws the milk
अस्मैasmaifor him; to him
वाक्vākspeech; the word
दोहम्dohamthe milking; the milk
यःyaḥwho; the one who
वाचःvācaḥof speech; of speech
दोहःdohaḥthe milking; the drawing out
अन्नवान्annavānpossessed of food; having abundance
अन्नादःannādaḥan eater of food; the eater of food
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
यःyaḥwho; the one who
एतत्etatthis; all this
एवम्evamthus; in this way
विद्वान्vidvānknowing; wise
वाचिvāciin speech; when speech
सप्तविधम्saptavidhamsevenfold; of seven parts
सामोपास्तेsāmopāstehe venerates as the sāman; he contemplates the sāman
Translation
Speech milks out milk for him — that milk which speech has; and he becomes possessed of food and an eater of food who, knowing this thus, venerates the sevenfold sāman in speech.
Version
8cb834823fd5 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:38:01 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fruit of the speech-upāsanā is the formula of the milch cow (already familiar from 1.3 and 1.13!): dugdhe 'smai vāg dohaṁ yo vāco dohaḥ — "speech milks out its yield for him": speech has milk, a power to nourish; and it is given to one who knows her song-composition.
The ring closes beautifully: in the first adhyāya speech gave milk to one who knew the syllables of the udgītha and the stobhas; here, to one who knows the seven members in the very tissue of language. The lesson is one: a word feeds him who honours its structure: the careless of speech talks to no purpose (a lean cow!), the reverent is fed by the word and feeds by it. Every culture of the word — from mantra to honest conversation — stands upon this milk.