Upaniṣads · Chāndogya 1,10.9
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रस्तोतर् या देवता प्रस्तावम् अन्वायत्ता ताम् चेद् अविद्वान् प्रस्तोष्यसि मूर्धा ते विपतिष्यति इति
Transliteración (IAST)
prastotar yā devatā prastāvam anvāyattā tām ced avidvān prastoṣyasi mūrdhā te vipatiṣyati iti
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
प्रस्तोतर्prastotarO prastotṛ; the priest who begins the chant
याyāyā; the syllable yā
देवताdevatāthe deity; divine power
प्रस्तावम्prastāvamthe prastāva (prastāva — the introductory part of the sāman); the opening chant; the introduction
अन्वायत्ताanvāyattāis bound up [with it] (anu-ā-yatta — 'holding on after'); standing behind it; connected with it
ताम्tāmit; that
चेद्cedif; but if
अविद्वान्avidvānnot knowing (a-vidvas); the unknowing; without knowledge
प्रस्तोष्यसिprastoṣyasiyou will sing the prelude (future of pra-√stu); you will begin the prastāva; you will sing the prelude
मूर्धाmūrdhāthe head; the summit
तेteto you; for you
विपतिष्यतिvipatiṣyatiit will fall off; it will drop away
इतिitithus; how
Traducción
"Prastotṛ! If you sing the prastāva without knowing the deity that belongs to the prastāva — your head shall fall off!"
Versión
2d005c03cf74 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 22:31:57 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The first challenge: prastotar yā devatā prastāvam anvāyattā — "prastotṛ! that deity which belongs to the prastāva (anvāyattā — 'follows upon', stands behind it)" — tāṁ ced avidvān prastoṣyasi — "if you sing it not knowing him" — mūrdhā te vipatiṣyati — "your head shall fall off!"
The formula from the connoisseurs' dispute (khaṇḍa 8) is turned now not upon a fellow-talker but upon an officiating priest a moment before he acts: to sing without knowing to Whom and by What the song is held is deadly. Uṣasti stakes his own head as well: one who threw such a challenge without knowledge would himself perish (the law of the disputation cuts both ways). What this shout arrests is craft without knowing: mechanical service in which the sign is sung without the Signified. The singers, to their credit, fall silent (verse 1.10.11): they know the worth of the formula — and the measure of their own ignorance.