Pravāhaṇa Jaivali, a wise and respected king, once addressed Śālāvatya about the Sāman, the sacred chant. He warned, “Your Sāman is finite; if you were to declare this now, your head would fall off.” Śālāvatya, unwavering, replied, “Let my head fall off, for I know this of the venerable one.” Pravāhaṇa permitted him: “Know it.” Seeking deeper understanding, Pravāhaṇa asked, “What is the goal of this world?” Śālāvatya answered, “Space. All beings arise from space and return to space; space is greater than them and their final resort.” Pravāhaṇa explained that this realization is the higher, more excellent udgitha—the infinite. Whoever meditates upon this higher udgitha, knowing its greatness, becomes higher and more excellent, conquering worlds that are higher and more excellent. Atidhanvan Shaunaka then spoke to Udara Shandilya, saying, “As long as people in this world know this udgitha among their descendants, so long will there be life for them here.” Likewise, in the other world, there are worlds beyond. Whoever meditates upon this truth finds life in this world that is higher and more excellent, and in the other world, there is world after world. In the land of the Kurus, in the village of Vāṭikā, lived Chakrayana of the Ibhya clan, together with his wife. One day, while they were eating, Chakrayana begged for some cooked beans. They told him, “There are no others here except those set aside for us.” He insisted, “Give me some of these,” and they gave them. Then he asked for the leavings, saying, “Perhaps I have already eaten the main portion.” They replied, “These are not leavings either.” Chakrayana reflected, “I would not have survived if I had not eaten these,” and wished for water. After eating, he brought the leftovers to his wife, who, well provided for, put them away. The next morning, as Chakrayana prepared to depart, he wished for food or at least a little wealth, hoping the king, who was about to perform a sacrifice, would choose him with all the officiating priests. His wife gave him the beans, and after eating them, he went to the sacrificial grounds. There, as the udgātṛs were about to sing praises, Chakrayana sat among them and addressed the prastotṛ: “The deity of the prastāva depends upon the prastāva. If you, not knowing her, sing the prastāva, your head will fall off.” Similarly, he addressed the udgātṛ: “The deity of the udgītha depends upon the udgītha. If you, not knowing her, sing the udgītha, your head will fall off.” He spoke likewise to the pratihartṛ: “The deity of the pratihāra depends upon the pratihāra. If you, not knowing her, recite the pratihāra, your head will fall off.” Fearing his words, all sat in silence. Then the sacrificer approached Chakrayana, saying, “I wish to know the venerable one.” Chakrayana replied, “I am Ushasti, son of Chakrayana.” The sacrificer explained, “I sought you among all the officiating priests. Not finding you, I chose others.” Ushasti requested, “Let me be among all the officiating priests.” The sacrificer agreed. Ushasti said, “Let only these who have been chosen with me sing the praises. As much wealth as you give to them, give to me also.” The sacrificer consented. Next, the prastotṛ approached Ushasti, repeating his warning about the deity of the prastāva. “Do not say this, venerable one. Which is that deity?” he asked. Ushasti replied, “Prāṇa, the vital breath. All beings enter into prāṇa and rise up from prāṇa. This deity depends on the prastāva. If, not knowing this, you recite the prastāva, your head would fall off—so I have declared.” Then the udgātṛ approached. Ushasti repeated his warning about the deity of the udgītha. “Which is that deity?” the udgātṛ asked. Ushasti answered, “The sun (Āditya). All beings sing to the sun as it rises high. This deity depends on the udgītha. If, not knowing this, you sing the udgītha, your head would fall off—so I have declared.” Finally, the pratihartṛ approached. Ushasti repeated his warning about the deity of the pratihāra. “Which is that deity?” the pratihartṛ asked. Ushasti replied, “Food (Anna). All beings live by taking in food. This deity depends on the pratihāra. If, not knowing this, you recite the pratihāra, your head would fall off—so I have declared.” Elsewhere, Bako Dālbhya and Glāva, son of Maitreyī, went forth to study the Śauva Udgītha. A white dog appeared to them, and other dogs gathered around, saying, “Sir, please sing for us; we are hungry.” The dog instructed, “Do not come here in the morning.” Bako Dālbhya and Glāva watched. The dogs began to move as those about to sing the Bahiṣpavamāna, slithering along and sitting together, making the sound “hiṃ.” They chanted, “Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! The god Varuṇa, Prajāpati, Savitṛ has brought food here. O lord of food, bring food here, bring it, bring it!” The world is the ‘hā’ sound; the wind is the ‘ikāra’; the moon is the ‘kāra’; the self is the ‘hakāra’; fire is the ‘īkāra.’ The sun is the ‘ūkāra’; the call is the ‘ekāra’; all the gods are the ‘auhoyikāra’; Prajāpati is the ‘hiṅkāra’; prāṇa is the svara; food is the yā; speech is Virāj. Stobha is sañcara; huṅkāra. For one who knows this Upaniṣad of the Sāmans, as the Upaniṣad of the Sāmans, speech yields milk. Such a person becomes one who has food and eats food. Indeed, the worship of the Sāman as a whole is good. What is good, they call Sāman; what is not good, they call not Sāman. Approaching with the Sāman is approaching well; approaching with what is not Sāman is not approaching well. When it is good, they say, “Sāma, indeed, for us!” When it is not good, they say, “Not Sāma for us!” Whoever, knowing thus, worships Sāman as ‘not good Sāman,’ even if unrighteous people approach him or bow to him, they would come near and submit. One should meditate on the fivefold Sāman in the worlds: the earth is the hiṅkāra, fire is the prastāva, the atmosphere is the udgītha, the sun is the pratihāra, and heaven is the nidhana—thus in the higher worlds. In descending order: heaven is the hiṅkāra, the sun is the prastāva, the atmosphere is the udgītha, fire is the pratihāra, and earth is the nidhana. Thus, through these teachings, the sacred chants and their meanings are revealed, connecting the outer world, the inner breath, food, and the divine, guiding seekers toward the infinite.