Upanishads · Chāndogya 5,23.1
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ याम् पञ्चमीम् जुहुयात् ताम् जुहुयात् उदानाय स्वाहा इति उदानः तृप्यति
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yām pañcamīm juhuyāt tām juhuyāt udānāya svāhā iti udānaḥ tṛpyati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
याम्yāmwhich; that
पञ्चमीम्pañcamīmthe fifth (pañcamī); the fifth; the fifth in order
जुहुयात्juhuyātlet him make the oblation; let him bring
ताम्tāmit; that
जुहुयात्juhuyātlet him make the oblation; let him bring
उदानायudānāyato the udāna (ud-āna — the ascending breath that leads upward); to the upward breath; to udāna
स्वाहाsvāhāsvāhā; the sacrificial exclamation
इतिitithus; how
उदानःudānaḥudāna (the ascending breath); the udāna; the upper breath
तृप्यतिtṛpyatiis satisfied; is sated
Translation
Let him make the fifth oblation with the words: "To the udāna, svāhā!" Then the udāna is satisfied.
Version
b88ab4054432 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:33:32 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth mouthful goes to the udāna, the ascending breath (ud + √an): it holds the posture upright, lifts the voice, and at the hour of death leads the soul upward out of the body. The Praśna Upaniṣad calls the udāna the power that "leads to a good world by good deeds, to an evil one by evil" (Praśna 3.7): it is the guiding breath, the inward charioteer of the departure.
The fifth oblation is therefore the most far-sighted: at his dinner table a man feeds the power that will one day carry him along one of the two paths described in this chapter (5.10). One who has offered the udāna a lifetime's sacrifice of attention will have someone to travel with in his last hour: the charioteer will prove an old friend.