Upanishads · Chāndogya 8,2.5
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यदि सखिलोककामः भवति संकल्पात् एव अस्य सखायः समुत्तिष्ठन्ति तेन सखिलोकेन संपन्नः महीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yadi sakhilokakāmaḥ bhavati saṃkalpāt eva asya sakhāyaḥ samuttiṣṭhanti tena sakhilokena saṃpannaḥ mahīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यदिyadiif; but if
सखिलोककामःsakhilokakāmaḥdesiring the world of friends (sakhi-loka-kāma); having wished for the world of friends; longing for the friends' world
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
संकल्पात्saṃkalpātthan intention; from intention
एवevaindeed; surely
अस्यasyaof this; it
सखायःsakhāyaḥthe friends (sakhi, plural); comrades; the friends
समुत्तिष्ठन्तिsamuttiṣṭhantithey climb; arise
तेनtenawith that; by means of this
सखिलोकेनsakhilokenaby the world of friends; by the friends' region
संपन्नःsaṃpannaḥharnessed; having attained
महीयतेmahīyateis glorified; is magnified
Translation
If he desires the world of friends, then by his mere resolve friends arise; united with that world of friends, he is exalted.
Version
9a3b48cd9207 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:49:49 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth picture is friends (sakhāyaḥ): the circle has widened beyond blood. Friendship, the freest of bonds — dictated neither by family nor by duty — is likewise numbered among true desires; eternity is not stingier than earth: in it there is room for chosen closeness.
The word sakhi is the very one by which Kṛṣṇa will call Arjuna ("you are My friend", BG 4.3), and by which Gauḍīya theology names a whole rasa of relations with God, sakhya. The Upaniṣad's catalogue seems to hallow in advance the ladder of attachments which bhakti will carry up to Him: fathers, mothers, brothers, friends — the heart learns eternal closeness on all its rungs.