Once, a divine being, radiant and compassionate, saw that the deities were burdened with evil and death. She resolved to liberate them. Leading them to the farthest edges of the directions, she deposited their evil there, freeing them from its grip. Thus, it is taught that one should not descend to realms lower than human, nor journey to the ends, nor follow the paths of evil and death. Having cast off these burdens, the deity carried the deities beyond death itself. She began with speech, releasing it from death, and speech transformed into fire. This fire, having crossed the boundary of death, now shines brilliantly. Next, she carried breath beyond death; once freed, breath became wind, which now blows ceaselessly, untouched by death. Then she carried the eye beyond death; released, the eye became the sun, shining with immortal light. The ear was next; once freed, it became the directions themselves, which now exist beyond the reach of death. Finally, she carried the mind beyond death; released, the mind became the moon, shining serenely. Thus, the deity carries one beyond death—this is known by those who truly understand. Food was then brought to the self. Whatever food is consumed, it is eaten by this self alone, and in it, all nourishment is established. The deities declared, “All this is but food; you have reached the self. Now, distribute food among us.” They entered into him completely. “So be it,” he said, and by what he eats, they are satisfied. Thus, they enter their own essence; the master of his own self is the foremost, the eater of food, the lord, for whoever knows this truth. Whoever, knowing this, desires offspring among his own, is never insufficient for his wives. But one who does not know, and desires offspring, finds insufficiency among his wives. The self is the essence and sap of the limbs; breath is the sap, for when breath departs from any limb, that limb dries up. He is known as Bṛhaspati, for speech is Bṛhatī and he is her lord. He is also Brahmaṇaspati, for speech is Brahman and he is her lord. He is Sāman; speech is Sāman, and he is its singer. This is the essence of Sāman: whoever is equal with a horse, a mosquito, an elephant, these three worlds, and all that exists, attains union and world-hood with Sāman, for whoever knows this Sāman. He is the Udgītha; breath is Udgītha, for breath sustains all. Speech is the song and the singer; thus, he is called Udgītha. Once, while eating, King Brahmadatta of the Cikitānas said, “This is the king who split his head!” For when his essence departed, it was by speech and breath that it left. Whoever knows the true possession of Sāman, truly obtains possession; for him, possession is the svara, the sound. Therefore, one wishing to perform priestly duties should desire svara in speech, and with speech endowed thus, carry out his function. In sacrifice, those seeking possession look for one with svara; he truly obtains possession, whoever knows this Sāman. Whoever knows the gold of Sāman, truly obtains gold; for him, gold is the svara. Whoever knows this, attains gold. Whoever knows the foundation of Sāman, truly stands firm; for him, speech is the foundation. Truly, breath is established in speech and is sung, though some say it is food. Now, regarding the ascent of the Pavamānas: the prastotṛ alone sings the sāman of the prastāva. When he sings, he recites: “From the unreal, lead me to the real; from darkness, lead me to light; from death, lead me to immortality.” When he says, “From the unreal, lead me to the real,” the unreal is death, the real is immortality. “From death, lead me to immortality”—he prays, “Do not make me mortal.” “From darkness, lead me to light”—death is darkness, light is immortality. There is nothing hidden here. As for other hymns, one sings for oneself what is to be eaten and drunk; thus, one may choose whatever desire one wishes. The singer who knows this, for himself or the sacrificer, sings whatever desire he wishes. He becomes the conqueror of worlds, desiring nothing seen, whoever knows this Sāman. In the beginning, there was only the Self, in the form of a person. He looked around and saw nothing but himself. He first declared, “I am.” Thus, he became “I” by name. Even now, when addressed, one first says “I am,” then speaks any other name. He burned up all evil before him, and so is called puruṣa, person. Whoever wishes to burn up what is before him, knowing this, indeed burns it up. Yet, he was afraid; for one who is alone is afraid. Then he thought, “Since there is nothing else but myself, what should I fear?” With that, his fear departed, for fear arises only from a second. He was alone, and so did not delight; he desired a second. He became as large as a man and woman in close embrace. He divided himself in two; from this, husband and wife arose. Yājñavalkya said, “This is like one side of a split pea.” Thus, space is filled by a woman. He united with her, and from that, human beings were born. She thought, “How can he unite with me after producing me from himself?” She concealed herself. He became a bull, she a cow; he united with her, and cattle were born. He became a stallion, she a mare; he became a donkey, she a she-donkey; he united with her, and single-hoofed animals were born. He became a he-goat, she a she-goat; he became a ram, she a ewe; he united with her, and goats and sheep were born. In this way, he created all pairs, down to ants. He realized, “I am indeed the creation, for I created all this.” Thus, creation arose. Whoever knows this, for him, in this creation, there is creation. Then he rubbed himself; from his mouth and hands, he produced fire. Thus, the inside of the mouth and the yoni are hairless. When people say, “Let us worship this god or that god,” each is but a partial manifestation of the one Self; for all gods are only this one. Whatever is moist here, he created as semen; that is Soma. Thus, all food and the eater of food are encompassed: Soma is food, Agni is the eater. This is the supreme creation of Brahman: being superior, he created the gods; being mortal, he created mortals. By knowing this supreme creation, one attains joy. Then, all was undifferentiated, distinguished only by name and form: “He is such by name, such by form.” Even now, it is distinguished only thus. He has entered here, down to the tips of the nails. Just as a razor is placed in its case, or the earth in its nest, he is not fully manifest and thus unseen. When breathing, he is called breath; speaking, speech; seeing, eye; hearing, ear; thinking, mind. These are his names according to their functions. Whoever worships each separately knows only a part, not the whole; he becomes only as each one.