Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,11.4
॥
Devanāgarī
तान् ह उवाच अश्वपतिः वै भगवन्तः अयम् कैकेयः संप्रति इमम् आत्मानम् वैश्वानरम् अध्येति तम् हन्त अभ्यागच्छाम इति तम् ह अभ्याजग्मुः
Transliteration (IAST)
tān ha uvāca aśvapatiḥ vai bhagavantaḥ ayam kaikeyaḥ saṃprati imam ātmānam vaiśvānaram adhyeti tam hanta abhyāgacchāma iti tam ha abhyājagmuḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तान्tānof them; those
हhaindeed; surely
उवाचuvācahe said; He spoke
अश्वपतिःaśvapatiḥAśvapati (aśva-pati — 'the lord of horses', king of the Kekayas); King Aśvapati; Aśvapati Kaikeya
वैvaiverily; indeed
भगवन्तःbhagavantaḥvenerable sirs; esteemed sirs
अयम्ayamthis; this one here
कैकेयःkaikeyaḥKaikeya (of the Kekaya line); the king of the Kekayas; Kaikeya
संप्रतिsaṃpratinow; now
इमम्imamthis; of this
आत्मानम्ātmānambody; the self
वैश्वानरम्vaiśvānaramVaiśvānara; the universal fire-man
अध्येतिadhyetihe studies; realises
तम्tamit; that one
हन्तhantaso then; come now
अभ्यागच्छामabhyāgacchāmalet us go to him; let us approach him
इतिitithus; how
तम्tamit; that one
हhaindeed; surely
अभ्याजग्मुःabhyājagmuḥthey went (abhi-ā + √gam, perfect); they set out; they came
Translation
He said to them: "Sirs, Aśvapati Kaikeya is at present studying this Vaiśvānara-ātman. Let us go to him." And they went to him.
Version
795d8cedbc91 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:30:39 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Uddālaka names a name: Aśvapati, king of the Kekayas. Again, as in the story of Pravāhaṇa, the bearer of the higher vidyā turns out to be a kṣatriya: the knowledge of the Vaiśvānara is royal knowledge, and this is no accident. He who rules many is bound to know the One in the many; a king who does not see one life in thousands of subjects is no king but a collector of taxes.
And six of them go — now with Uddālaka himself standing in the pupils' ranks. The procession is magnificent: five great householders and the most famous brāhmaṇa of his generation walking across the country to ask a king about the ātman. The Upaniṣads never tire of painting such processions of humility: the road to truth almost always begins with the road to its bearer — and with a readiness to go in whatever rank.