Whoever truly understands and chants the sacred syllable—knowing its secret nature—enters into its immortal, fearless resonance. Just as the gods, by entering into this sound, attained immortality, so too does the knower become immortal by merging with it. Now, the udgītha, the sacred chant, is none other than the praṇava, the syllable Om; and the praṇava is the udgītha. The sun itself is this udgītha, for its sound is Om. Kauṣītaki, addressing his son, declared, “I have approached this very one; therefore, you alone are mine. Turn back your rays, for you will have many.” Thus, the explanation is given with regard to the deities. Turning to the self, the chief vital breath is to be meditated upon as the udgītha, for it, too, resounds 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.” Thus, the teaching is also applied to one’s own being. The udgītha and the praṇava are indeed one. If the hotṛ, the priest, begins his recitation from the wrong place, he must gather up the udgītha again and again, restoring it repeatedly. Now, consider the hymns and chants: the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc, the verse. Therefore, the Sāman is sung upon the Ṛc. Agni, the fire, is the Ṛc, and the Sāman is that which is sung upon it. In the same way, the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc, and so the Sāman is sung upon the Ṛc—here, the Ṛc is the atmosphere, and the Sāman is that which fills it. Again, the Sāman is woven upon the Ṛc: the Ṛc is the sky, and the sun is the Sāman. The Ṛc is the stars, and the Sāman is the moon. Now, the white brilliance of the sun is the Sāman; that which is blue or dark is also the Sāman. The Sāman is always woven upon the Ṛc, and so it is sung. Within the sun, the golden person is seen—golden-bearded, golden-haired, golden from toenail to crown. His eyes are like lotuses just opened by the sun, and his name is Uditi. Whoever knows this rises above all evils, just as Uditi rises above all evils. For him, the Ṛc and Sāman are like the two cheeks; therefore, the udgītha, the sacred chant, is sung for him. He is the one who acts for all the worlds beyond and for the desires of the gods—this is the explanation concerning the deities. Turning again to the self: speech is the Rik, and breath is the Sāman. The Sāman is woven upon the Rik, and so the Sāman is sung as interwoven with the Rik; speech is truly that, and breath is its essence. The eye is the essence of the Rik, and the Sāman is that which arises from it; the ear is the Rik, and the mind is its Sāman. The white brightness in the eye is the Rik, and the blue or dark part is the Sāman; thus, the Sāman is always woven upon the Rik. Now, the person seen in the eye—he is the Rik, he is the Sāman, he is the Uktha, the Yajus, and Brahman itself. His form is as it appears, and his shadow is as large as his form; his name is as it is known. He rules over all the worlds below and the desires of men. Those who sing to the vīṇā, the musicians, sing of him; thus, they are called singers of wealth. Whoever, knowing this, sings the Sāman, truly sings both the Rik and the Sāman; by this, he attains the worlds beyond and the desires of the gods. By this very means, he also attains the worlds below and the desires of men. Therefore, one who knows thus should be called upon to sing the Sāman. And when asked, “For which desire shall I sing for you?”—it is for him alone that the knower of this teaching fulfills any desire by singing the Sāman. Once, three men skilled in the udgītha arose: Śilaka Śālāvatya, Caikitāyana Dālbhya, and Pravāhaṇa Jaivali. They said, “We are skilled in the udgītha; come, let us discuss it.” They agreed and sat together. Pravāhaṇa Jaivali said, “Let the two most venerable among you speak first; I will listen to your words.” Then Śilaka Śālāvatya said to Caikitāyana Dālbhya, “Come, I will ask you.” “Ask,” he replied. “What is the goal of the Sāman?” “The svara, the tone,” was the answer. “What is the goal of the svara?” “Breath.” “And of breath?” “Food.” “And of food?” “Water.” “And of water?” “That world.” “And what is the goal of that world?” “Let him not lead it to the world of heaven,” was the reply. “We establish the world of heaven through the Sāman, for that is the praise of heaven.” Śilaka Śālāvatya said, “Your Sāman is without foundation; if you were to say this now, your head would fall off.” “Let my head fall off,” replied Caikitāyana Dālbhya. Then Śilaka Śālāvatya said, “I know this of the venerable one.” “Know it,” was the reply. “What is the goal of that world?” “This world.” “And what is the goal of this world?” “Let him not lead it to the world of foundation,” came the answer. “We establish the world of foundation through the Sāman, for that is the praise of foundation.” Then Pravāhaṇa Jaivali said to Śālāvatya, “Your Sāman is finite; if you were to say this now, your head would fall off.” “Let my head fall off,” replied Śālāvatya. “I know this of the venerable one.” “Know it,” was the reply. “What is the goal of this world?” “Space,” came the answer. “All these beings arise from space and return to space; space is greater than all, and space is their final resort.” This is the higher, more excellent udgītha; this is the infinite. Whoever knows and meditates upon this higher udgītha becomes higher and more excellent, conquering those worlds that are higher and more excellent. Atidhanvan Shaunaka, having spoken to Udara Shandilya, said: “As long as people in this world know this udgītha among their descendants, so long will there be life for them in this world.” Likewise, in the other world, there is world after world; thus, whoever knows and meditates upon this, for him there is life here and worlds beyond. In the land of the Kurus, in the village of Vāṭikā, there lived a man named Chakrayana of the Ibhya clan, together with his wife. Once, while they were eating, he begged for some cooked beans from them. One of them said, “There are no others here except those that have been set aside for us.” But he insisted, “Give me some of these.” So they gave them to him. He asked for the leavings as well, saying, “Perhaps I have already eaten the main portion.” They replied, “These are not leavings either.” He said, “I would not have survived if I had not eaten these.” And he thought, “May I obtain water.” After eating, he brought the leftovers to his wife. She was truly well provided for, and after receiving them, she put them away.