Upanishads · Chāndogya 2,18.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अजाः हिङ्कारः अवयः प्रस्तावः गावः उद्गीथः अश्वाः प्रतिहारः पुरुषः निधनम् एताः रेवत्यः पशुषु प्रोताः
Transliteration (IAST)
ajāḥ hiṅkāraḥ avayaḥ prastāvaḥ gāvaḥ udgīthaḥ aśvāḥ pratihāraḥ puruṣaḥ nidhanam etāḥ revatyaḥ paśuṣu protāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अजाःajāḥgoats; the she-goats
हिङ्कारःhiṅkāraḥhiṅkāra; the opening call hiṅ
अवयःavayaḥsheep; the rams
प्रस्तावःprastāvaḥprastāva; the opening part of the sāman
गावःgāvaḥcattle; the cattle
उद्गीथःudgīthaḥudgītha; the exalted chant
अश्वाःaśvāḥhorses; steeds
प्रतिहारःpratihāraḥpratihāra; the responding part
पुरुषःpuruṣaḥman; Puruṣa
निधनम्nidhanamnidhana; the conclusion; the dissolution
एताःetāḥthese; of these
रेवत्यःrevatyaḥthe revatīs (revatī — the 'Wealthy' sāmans); the revatī chants; the revatī sāmans
पशुषुpaśuṣuin animals; among cattle
प्रोताःprotāḥinterwoven; woven in
Translation
Goats are the hiṅkāra, sheep the prastāva, cows the udgītha, horses the pratihāra, man the nidhana. These revatīs are woven into animals.
Version
372a2034b2d8 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:44:39 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The eighth melody is the revatī (in the plural: "the Rich ones" — the sāmans set to the revatī verses) — woven into animals: the same ladder of the flock as in 2.6 (goats, sheep, cows, horses, man), now under the name of abundance: revatī is from rayi, wealth!
Cattle were the living wealth of antiquity, and the melody of wealth is woven precisely into them: riches lie not in bullion but in what breathes: in a herd that multiplies, feeds and warms. The revatīs in the flock are a lesson for every economy: wealth stays alive as long as it is sung over — as long as husbandry is held by the concord of care and not by the head count alone.