Once, in the beginning, the gods and the demons—both children of Prajapati—gathered together. The gods resolved to take up the Udgitha, the sacred chant, saying, “With this, we shall overcome our rivals.” They began to meditate upon the Udgitha as the breath in the nose, believing it would bring them victory. But the demons, seeking to obstruct their efforts, struck at this breath with evil. As a result, humans now smell both pleasant and unpleasant odors, for the breath, having been struck by evil, receives both. Undeterred, the gods meditated upon the Udgitha as speech. Again, the demons struck it with evil, and thus, people speak both truth and falsehood, for speech too was tainted. The gods next turned their meditation to the eye, but the demons struck there as well, so that now one sees both what is pleasing and what is not. They then meditated upon the Udgitha as the ear, but again the demons corrupted it, and so people hear both what is worth hearing and what is not. The gods continued and meditated upon the mind, but the demons struck this as well, causing people to imagine both what is worthy and what is not. Finally, the gods meditated upon the Udgitha as the chief vital breath, the prāṇa. The demons tried to strike this too, but they could not harm it—just as one cannot break a stone by striking it. This indestructibility is the true nature of the chief breath. Whoever knows this becomes unassailable; if anyone wishes evil upon such a knower or attacks him, it is as futile as striking a stone. Through this realization, the one whose sin has been removed transcends the perception of fragrance and foul odor, for it is with this chief breath that one sustains all other vital breaths, eating and drinking through it. When such a person departs at the end of life, he takes this knowledge with him. The Angiras sages meditated upon this as the Udgitha and considered it the essence of all the limbs. Brihaspati, the wise, also meditated upon the Udgitha in this way, for speech is called ‘Brihati’ and he is its lord. Ayasya meditated thus as well, for from the mouth, food is consumed. Baka Dalbhya, having understood the Udgitha in this way, became the Udgātṛ, the singer of the sacred chant, for the people of Naimisha, fulfilling their desires through his song. Indeed, the fulfillment of desires comes to one who, knowing thus, meditates upon this imperishable Udgitha, especially in relation to the self. Now, regarding the deities, one should meditate upon that which shines in the heavens as the Udgitha. As the sun rises, it sings forth for all beings, dispelling darkness and fear. Whoever knows this becomes a dispeller of darkness and fear. The vital force here in oneself and the sun there in the sky are one and the same: both are warm, both are the Udgitha, the svara and the pratyasvara. Therefore, one should meditate upon the Udgitha in all these aspects. One should also meditate upon vyāna, the vital force that is the junction between inhalation and exhalation, as the Udgitha, for prāṇa is inhalation, apāna is exhalation, and their meeting is vyāna, which is speech. This is why, without breath, one cannot utter speech, recite a ṛc, or sing a sāman, for all are connected through breath, and the Sāman is the Udgitha. Thus, all powerful actions—such as kindling fire by friction, the running of a horse, or drawing a strong bow—are performed without inhalation or exhalation, relying on vyāna. For this reason, vyāna should be meditated upon as the Udgitha. The syllables of the Udgitha also hold deep meaning: ‘ud’ is prāṇa, for by it one rises; ‘gī’ is speech, for ‘gīr’ means speech; ‘tha’ is food, for all rests upon food. In the cosmos, heaven is ‘ud’, the midspace is ‘gī’, earth is ‘tha’; the sun is ‘ud’, wind is ‘gī’, fire is ‘tha’; the Sāmaveda is ‘ud’, the Yajurveda is ‘gī’, and the Ṛgveda is ‘tha’. For the one who knows this, speech becomes the cow whose milk is food—such a person becomes full of food and enjoys it, by meditating upon these syllables. Now, one should meditate upon blessing, prosperity, and approach—all that one intends to praise, whether it be a sāman, a ṛc, a seer, a deity, a metre, a stoma, or a direction, to that one should resort. Having thus approached oneself, one should praise, keeping one’s desire in view and remaining vigilant. When that desire is fulfilled, it is because one praised with that intent. Furthermore, one should meditate upon the syllable ‘Om’ as the Udgitha, for when the Udgitha is sung, it is ‘Om’ that is sung. The gods, fearful of death, entered into the threefold knowledge and covered themselves with the metres as with veils. Yet death watched them, as a fish watches in water, seeking them in the Ṛc, the Sāman, and the Yajus. Knowing this, the gods transcended the Ṛc, the Sāman, and the Yajus and entered into the sound, the syllable ‘Om’. Whenever one reaches the Ṛc, one surpasses it with ‘Om’; so too with the Sāman and the Yajus. This sound, this syllable, is immortal and fearless. Entering into it, the gods became immortal and fearless. Thus, whoever knows this and chants ‘Om’ enters into this immortal, fearless sound, and, like the gods, becomes immortal. The Udgitha is indeed the praṇava, and the praṇava is the Udgitha. The sun itself is the Udgitha, for it resounds as ‘Om’. Kauṣītaki, knowing this, addressed his son: “I have approached this very one; therefore, you alone are mine. Turn back your rays, for you will have many.” This is the teaching with regard to the deities. In relation to the self, the chief vital breath is to be meditated upon as the Udgitha, for it too sounds as ‘Om’. Again, Kauṣītaki said to his son, “I have approached this very one; therefore, you alone are mine. Sing forth the vital breaths in abundance, for I shall have many.” The Udgitha and praṇava are thus one. If the hotṛ priest recites incorrectly, he gathers up the Udgitha again and again, restoring its unity. Now, the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc, and so the Sāman is sung upon the Ṛc. This is Agni, and that is the Sāman. In the same way, the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc in the atmosphere, and again in the sky, where the sun is the Sāman. Among the stars, the moon is the Sāman. In all these, the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc, and thus the sacred chant resounds through all realms. Such is the story and the meditation upon the Udgitha, the imperishable sound, by which the wise overcome evil, fulfill their desires, dispel darkness and fear, and attain immortality.