Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,4.3
॥
Devanāgarī
सः ह हारिद्रुमतम् गौतमम् एत्य उवाच ब्रह्मचर्यम् भगवति वत्स्यामि उपेयाम् भगवन्तम् इति
Transliteration (IAST)
saḥ ha hāridrumatam gautamam etya uvāca brahmacaryam bhagavati vatsyāmi upeyām bhagavantam iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सःsaḥhe; that one
हhaindeed; surely
हारिद्रुमतम्hāridrumatamHāridrumata; the descendant of Haridrumat
गौतमम्gautamamGautama; the sage Gautama
एत्यetyahaving come (ā-√i); on arriving; presenting himself
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
ब्रह्मचर्यम्brahmacaryambrahmacarya; studentship
भगवतिbhagavatifrom the venerable one; with you, sir
वत्स्यामिvatsyāmiI would live; I would abide
उपेयाम्upeyāmmay I come (upa-√i, optative); may I approach; may I be received [as a pupil]
भगवन्तम्bhagavantamthe venerable one; the esteemed one
इतिitithus; how
Translation
He came to Hāridrumata Gautama and said: "I wish to live with your reverence as a brahmacārin — may I come to your reverence [as a pupil]!"
Version
15eb7f11b514 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:16:32 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The boy at a teacher's threshold: sa ha hāridrumataṁ gautamam etya — "having come to Hāridrumata Gautama" — brahmacaryaṁ bhagavati vatsyāmi upeyāṁ bhagavantam — "I wish to live with your reverence as a student — may I come to your reverence": the formula of the upanayana, the petition for acceptance.
The question about family is now bound to come — the very question to which Satyakāma has nothing but his mother's truth. The scene will settle more than a boy's fate: it will establish for the ages what makes a man a brāhmaṇa, birth or truthfulness — and it will be settled not by a theological debate but by a plain exchange of question and answer at a doorstep.