Upanishads · Chāndogya 6,4.5
॥
Devanāgarī
एतत् ह स्म वै तद्विद्वांसः आहुः पूर्वे महाशालाः महाश्रोत्रियाः न नः अद्य कश्चन अश्रुतम् अमतम् अविज्ञातम् उदाहरिष्यति इति हि एभ्यः विदाम् चक्रुः
Transliteration (IAST)
etat ha sma vai tadvidvāṃsaḥ āhuḥ pūrve mahāśālāḥ mahāśrotriyāḥ na naḥ adya kaścana aśrutam amatam avijñātam udāhariṣyati iti hi ebhyaḥ vidām cakruḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतत्etatthis; all this
हhaindeed; surely
स्मsmacustomarily; as is known
वैvaiverily; indeed
तद्विद्वांसःtadvidvāṃsaḥthose who knew this (tad-vidvas); who were aware of it; the knowers of it
आहुःāhuḥthey say; said
पूर्वेpūrvethe ancients (pūrva — 'the former ones'); the former ones; the forefathers
महाशालाःmahāśālāḥgreat householders; owners of great sacrificial halls
महाश्रोत्रियाःmahāśrotriyāḥgreat masters of the Veda; learned śrotriyas
नnanot; no
नःnaḥus; to us
अद्यadyatoday; now
कश्चनkaścanaanyone; someone
अश्रुतम्aśrutamthe unheard; the unstudied
अमतम्amatamthe unthought; the ill-considered
अविज्ञातम्avijñātamthe unknown; the undiscerned
उदाहरिष्यतिudāhariṣyatihe will adduce (ud-ā + √hṛ — 'to bring forward as an instance'); he will produce; he will point out
इतिitithus; how
हिhiindeed; truly
एभ्यःebhyaḥto them; for them
विदाम्vidāmthey knew (vidāṁ cakruḥ — a periphrastic perfect); they were aware; they had comprehended
चक्रुःcakruḥ(auxiliary to vidām — 'they made the knowing'); they made; they performed
Translation
This is just what the ancients knew — the great householders and great knowers of the Veda; they used to say: "Now no one will bring us anything unheard, unthought, unknown" — for by these three they knew everything.
Version
9768a6722f0d · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:36:21 PM UTC
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The father seals the lesson with a reference to his predecessors: mahāśālāḥ mahāśrotriyāḥ — the same words with which the fifth chapter styled the seekers of the Vaiśvānara (5.11.1). The ancients, who possessed the knowledge of the three threads, said calmly: "no one will bring us anything unheard" — the very promise with which the chapter began (6.1.3), but now fulfilled in living men.
This is an important link: the great instruction is not Uddālaka's invention but a tradition flowing from "the former ones". The Upaniṣad always presents truth's pedigree: knowledge without succession is a find, knowledge in a chain is an inheritance. And mark the measure of their calm: those who know the root are not afraid of news; no new thing can unsettle one who knows its threads in advance.