Upaniṣads · Pañcabrahma 6
॥
Devanāgarī
विद्यालोकसमायुक्तं भानुकोटिसमप्रभम् । प्रसन्नं सामवेदाख्यं नानाष्टकसमन्वितम्
Transliteración (IAST)
vidyālokasamāyuktaṃ bhānukoṭisamaprabham | prasannaṃ sāmavedākhyaṃ nānāṣṭakasamanvitam
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
विद्या-आलोक-समायुक्तंvidyā-āloka-samāyuktaṃjoined with the light of knowledge
भानु-कोटि-सम-प्रभम्bhānu-koṭi-sama-prabhamradiant like a myriad suns
प्रसन्नं साम-वेद-आख्यंprasannaṃ sāma-veda-ākhyaṃclear, called by the name of the Sāmaveda
नाना-अष्टक-समन्वितम्nānā-aṣṭaka-samanvitamendowed with various octads
Traducción
"Joined with the light of knowledge, radiant like a myriad suns, clear, called by the name of the Sāmaveda, endowed with various octads."
Versión
4a74462709c8 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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The third face is given the Sāmaveda, and it is worth saying why this correspondence is a felicitous one. The Sāmaveda is the Veda of chanting: its texts are the very hymns of the Ṛgveda, but set to melodies; and the whole of it is, in essence, a collection of tunes. And the face to which it is given is called prasanna, "clear, gracious, delightful," from pra-sad, "to settle, to become clear"; from the same root comes prasāda, "grace."
That is, chant and delight are joined; and this joining, to my mind, is a true one. The Vaiṣṇava side singles out the Sāmaveda among the rest and rests on the Gītā's word: vedānāṃ sāma-vedo'smi, "of the Vedas I am the Sāmaveda" (10.22). It is worth examining why this one in particular is named. In the same chapter the best in every class is listed — among luminaries the sun, among mountains Meru, among rivers the Gaṅgā; and among the Vedas is chosen the one that is sung.
The reason, one must suppose, is that chant relates to word as delight relates to knowledge: it is knowledge become pleasing. Let us add what grew from this. All Vaiṣṇava worship is chant: saṅkīrtana, communal loud singing, and the superiority of the loud over the quiet was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (2.15).
Hence the choice of the Sāmaveda in the Gītā is not an honorable mention but an indication of method; and her whole later history is the unfolding of this one word.