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Upanishads · Hayagrīva 2.3
॥
Devanāgarī
ओष्ठापिधाना नकुली दन्तैः परिवृता पविः । सर्वस्यै वाच ईशाना चारु मामिह वादयेति च वाग्रसः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṣṭhāpidhānā nakulī dantaiḥ parivṛtā paviḥ | sarvasyai vāca īśānā cāru māmiha vādayeti ca vāgrasaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओष्ठ-अपिधानाoṣṭha-apidhānāhaving the lips as a covering
नकुलीnakulīa weasel
दन्तैः परिवृताdantaiḥ parivṛtāsurrounded by teeth
पविःpaviḥa blade
सर्वस्यै वाचः ईशानाsarvasyai vācaḥ īśānāsovereign lady over all speech
चारु माम् इह वादयcāru mām iha vādaya"beautifully let me speak here"
च वाक्-रसःca vāk-rasaḥand this is the savor of speech
Translation
«Having the lips as a covering, a weasel, surrounded by teeth, a blade — sovereign lady over all speech: "beautifully let me speak here!" And this is the savor of speech».
Version
1433d5e37386 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse is enigmatic and belongs to those Vedic passages where Speech is described through the tongue in the mouth; the images deserve examination. Oṣṭhāpidhānā, “having the lips as a covering”: the tongue is covered by the lips as by a door. Nakulī means “weasel, mongoose”: the tongue is so named for its swiftness and for the way it hides and darts out.
Dantaiḥ parivṛtā, “surrounded by teeth”: the tongue lives within an enclosure of teeth. Paviḥ means “blade, edge”: the tongue is named a weapon. That is, before us are four riddles about one thing; and the last of them is the most important, for it names the tongue not as an instrument of speech, but as a weapon.
Add, too, the plea with which the verse ends: cāru mām iha vādaya, “beautifully let me speak here.” Again a plea, and again in the imperative addressed to a second person; we have noted such turns of phrase dozens of times. Worth noting, too, are the last two words: ca vāk-rasaḥ, “and this is the savor of speech.”
Rasa, “sap, taste,” stands here beside speech; this word was discussed reading Varāha (2.71) and Śāṭyāyanīya (11), where those who set aside the flower tasted only the sap. That is, speech has a savor, not only a meaning; and the plea asks not to speak correctly, but to speak beautifully. The Vaiṣṇava side stands on exactly this: its practice is not a practice of argument, but of singing; and hence its literature is occupied not so much with proofs as with making what is said savory.