तस्य ह एतस्य साम्नः यः स्वम् वेद भवति ह अस्य स्वम् तस्य वै स्वरः एव स्वम् तस्मात् आर्त्विज्यम् करिष्यन् वाचि स्वरम् इच्छेत तया वाचा स्वरसम्पन्नया आर्त्विज्यम् कुर्यात् तस्मात् यज्ञे स्वरवन्तम् दिदृक्षन्ते एव अथो यस्य स्वम् भवति भवति ह अस्य स्वम् यः एवम् एतत् साम्नः स्वम् वेद
tasya ha etasya sāmnaḥ yaḥ svam veda bhavati ha asya svam tasya vai svaraḥ eva svam tasmāt ārtvijyam kariṣyan vāci svaram iccheta tayā vācā svarasampannayā ārtvijyam kuryāt tasmāt yajñe svaravantam didṛkṣante eva atho yasya svam bhavati bhavati ha asya svam yaḥ evam etat sāmnaḥ svam veda
He who knows the possession of this sāman — possession comes to him. Its possession is sound (svara) itself. Therefore one who is about to perform priestly service should seek sound in his speech, so as to officiate with speech endowed with sound; therefore at a sacrifice men wish to see a priest with sound — one who has that possession. Possession comes to him who knows thus the possession of the sāman.
a8ef571b3ff1 · publicado 27 jul 2026, 0:42:16 UTC
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A small series on the "possessions" of the sāman begins, and the first is svara, sound, sonority: the fullness and purity of the voice. The song's possession is not the gold paid for it but the sound itself; a singer is rich in his throat as a field is rich in grain.
Hence a practical canon: a priest is obliged to "seek sound in his speech" — to cultivate his voice as one cultivates land; a congregation has a right to "wish to see a sonorous" priest. A careless, dull, slurred utterance of the sacred squanders its possession. The tradition of kīrtana lives by this verse to this day: sound is not the packaging of a meaning but its body; of whom it is said "sweet-voiced", of him it is said "wealthy".