Upanishads · Chāndogya 4,16.4
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यत्र उपाकृते प्रातरनुवाके न पुरा परिधानीयायाः ब्रह्मा व्यववदति उभे एव वर्तनी संस्कुर्वन्ति न हीयते अन्यतरा
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yatra upākṛte prātaranuvāke na purā paridhānīyāyāḥ brahmā vyavavadati ubhe eva vartanī saṃskurvanti na hīyate anyatarā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यत्रyatrawhere; when
उपाकृतेupākṛtewhen it has been begun; when it has been prepared
प्रातरनुवाकेprātaranuvākethe morning recitative; the morning reading
नnanot; no
पुराpurābefore; earlier
परिधानीयायाःparidhānīyāyāḥof the closing verse; of the concluding hymn
ब्रह्माbrahmāthe brahman priest; the knower of Brahman
व्यववदतिvyavavadatisays; he breaks the silence
उभेubheboth; both the one and the other; both together
एवevaindeed; surely
वर्तनीvartanīways; the tracks
संस्कुर्वन्तिsaṃskurvantithey are set right (sam + √kṛ, plural); they are put in order; they are perfected
नnanot; no
हीयतेhīyateit is forsaken; it is lost
अन्यतराanyatarāthe other; one of the two
Translation
But if, after the morning recitation has begun and before the closing verse, the brahman-priest does not break his silence, then both tracks are set right and neither perishes.
Version
cc15cc517654 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:23:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The same scene turned toward the light: the brahman kept silence — and both tracks are whole. Note that to save the sacrifice no action at all is required of him; what is required is an abstention — not to speak. There are services whose essence is a word withheld: silence in season weighs as much as a hymn in season.
Both tracks are "set right" together: the brahman's gathered mind does not replace the speech of the three priests, nor does their faultless speech replace his mind. The outward and the inward are not rivals but a pair of wheels on one axle; the spiritual life goes lame every time one of them is declared superfluous.