Upanishads · Chāndogya 8,5.2
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यत् सत्त्रायणम् इति आचक्षते ब्रह्मचर्यम् एव तत् ब्रह्मचर्येण हि एव सतः आत्मनः त्राणम् विन्दते अथ यत् मौनम् इति आचक्षते ब्रह्मचर्यम् एव तत् ब्रह्मचर्येण हि एव आत्मानम् अनुविद्य मनुते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yat sattrāyaṇam iti ācakṣate brahmacaryam eva tat brahmacaryeṇa hi eva sataḥ ātmanaḥ trāṇam vindate atha yat maunam iti ācakṣate brahmacaryam eva tat brahmacaryeṇa hi eva ātmānam anuvidya manute
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यत्yatwhich; that which
सत्त्रायणम्sattrāyaṇamthe long sacrificial session (sattrāyaṇa — a sacrifice of many days); the sacrificial sitting; the sattrāyaṇa
इतिitithus; how
आचक्षतेācakṣatethey call; they explain
ब्रह्मचर्यम्brahmacaryambrahmacarya; studentship
एवevaindeed; surely
तत्tatthat; this
ब्रह्मचर्येणbrahmacaryeṇaby brahmacarya; by spiritual discipline
हिhiindeed; truly
एवevaindeed; surely
सतःsataḥout of Being; from Sat
आत्मनःātmanaḥthe Ātman; himself
त्राणम्trāṇamprotection (trāṇa); the covering; protection
विन्दतेvindatefinds; obtains
अथathathereupon; then
यत्yatwhich; that which
मौनम्maunamsilence (mauna — the vow of silence); the vow of silence; mauna
इतिitithus; how
आचक्षतेācakṣatethey call; they explain
ब्रह्मचर्यम्brahmacaryambrahmacarya; studentship
एवevaindeed; surely
तत्tatthat; this
ब्रह्मचर्येणbrahmacaryeṇaby brahmacarya; by spiritual discipline
हिhiindeed; truly
एवevaindeed; surely
आत्मानम्ātmānambody; the self
अनुविद्यanuvidyahaving known; having comprehended
मनुतेmanutehe thinks (from √man); conceives; he reflects
Translation
What men call the long sacrificial session is brahmacarya: for it is by brahmacarya that one finds the protection of the existent ātman. What men call the vow of silence is brahmacarya: for it is by brahmacarya that, having found the ātman, one thinks.
Version
099450b72395 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:51:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two more identifications. Sattrāyaṇa, the many-day sacrificial "sitting", is read syllable by syllable: sataḥ trāṇam — "the protection of Being": the true long session is a life under the ātman's protection, and it is the one impregnable fortress. Mauna, the vow of silence, is unfolded by the verb manute — "he thinks": a real muni is silent not by pressed lips but because his mind is occupied with the One he has found; silence is not the absence of speech but the fullness of a subject.
The series of identifications teaches a translation from the language of austerities into the language of essence: every outward rule is a hieroglyph of an inward state. Hence the tradition honours not record-holders of asceticism but those in whom asceticism is transparent to its meaning: a silent man who does not think of the ātman is merely mute; a faster without God is merely hungry.