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Chandogya Upanisad
Chapter Two
II.15
1. When clouds gather, that is the Hinkara; when a rain-cloud forms, that is the Prastava; when it rains, that is the Udgitha; when it lightens and thunders, that is the Pratihara; when it ceases, that is the Nidhana. This is the Vairupa, woven on Parjanya.
2. The one who knows the Vairupa, woven on Parjanya, pens in all kinds of (virupa) fine-looking (surupa) animals: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the one who rains: that should be the vow.
II.16
1. Spring is the Hinkara; summer is the Prastava; the rainy season is the Udgitha; autumn is the Pratihara; winter is the Nidhana. This is the Vairaja, woven on the seasons.
2. The one who knows the Vairaja, woven on the seasons, excels (viraj) in offspring and animals and in the radiance of brahman: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the seasons: that should be the vow.
II. 17
1. Earth is the Hinkara; middle-air is the Prastava; sky is the Udgitha; the directions are the Pratihara; the ocean is the Nidhana. These are the Sakvaris, woven on the worlds.
2. The one who knows the Sakvaris, woven on the worlds, becomes a possessor of worlds: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the worlds: that should be the vow.
II.18
1. Goats are the Hinkara; sheep are the Prastava; cows are the Udgitha; horses are the Pratihara; man is the Nidhana. These are the Revatis, woven on the animals.
2. The one who knows the Revatis, woven on the animals, becomes rich in animals: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the animals: that should be the vow.
II.19
1. Hair is the Hinkara; skin is the Prastava; flesh is the Udgitha; bone is the Pratihara; marrow is the Nidhana. This is the Yajnayajiya, woven on the parts of the body.
2. The one who knows the Yajnayajiya, woven on the parts of the body, possesses the parts of the body, and is not maimed in any part: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not eat meat for a year: that should be the vow. Or he should not eat meat: that should be the vow.
II.20
1. Fire is the Hinkara; air is the Prastava; the sun is the Udgitha; the constellations are the Pratihara; the moon is the Nidhana. This is the Rajana, woven on the deities.
2. The one who knows the Rajana, woven on the deities, shares a world with, shares power with, attains union with the deities: he attains his full lifespan, lives long, becomes great in offspring and animals, great in fame. One should not speak ill of Brahmanas: that should be the vow.
II.21
1. The threefold knowledge is the Hinkara; the three worlds are the Prastava; fire, air and sun are the Udgitha; constellations, birds and light rays are the Pratihara; snakes, gandharvas and ancestors are the Nidhana. This is the saman, woven on everything.
2. The one who knows the saman, woven on everything, becomes everything.
3. There is a verse about it:
There is nothing else beyond them, older
Than the threes, the fivefold threes.
4. The one who knows this knows everything. All the directions bring him tribute. One should contemplate, 'I am everything': that should be the vow. That should be the vow.
II. 22
1. I recommend the roaring style of saman, called 'animal-like': it is the Udgitha of Agni. The 'indistinct' belongs to Prajapati, the 'distinct' to Soma, the 'soft and smooth' to Vayu, the 'smooth and powerful' to Indra, the 'crane-like' to Brhaspati, the 'ill-sounding' to Varuna. One should practice all of them, but avoid the one that belongs to Varuna.
2. Thinking, 'Let me sing into being immortality for the gods', one should sing it into being. 'Let me sing into being the offering (svadha) for the ancestors, hope for human beings, grass and water for the animals, a heavenly world for the patron of the sacrifice, food for myself!': meditating on these things in the mind, one should chant undistracted.
3. All vowels are the selves of Indra; all sibilants are the selves of Prajapati, all stops are the selves of Death. If someone finds fault with one regarding one's vowels, one should say, 'I have gone for refuge to Indra: he will answer you.'
4. If someone finds fault with one regarding one's sibilants, one should say, 'I have gone for refuge to Prajapati: he will crush you.' If someone finds fault with one regarding one's stops, one should say, 'I have gone for refuge to Death: he will burn you up.'
5. One should pronounce all vowels with resonance, with strength, thinking, 'Let me bestow strength on Indra!' One should pronounce all sibilants without swallowing, without dropping, distinctly, thinking, 'Let me give myself up to Prajapati!' One should pronounce all stops crisply, without slurring, thinking, 'Let me keep myself from Death!'
II.23
1. There are three who have dharma as their trunk. The first believes in sacrifice, study and giving, the second in asceticism (tapas); the third is the brahmacarin, living in his teacher's family-completely dedicating himself to his teacher's family. All these win worlds of merit. The one who rests in brahman attains immortality.
2. Prajapati heated up (abhi-tap-) the worlds. When they were heated up, the threefold knowledge issued from them. He heated that up. When it was heated up, the sounds BHUH, BHUVAH, SVAH, issued from it.
3. He heated them up. When they were heated up, the OM issued from them. Just as all leaves are penetrated and joined together by their main vein, all speech is penetrated and joined together by the OM. The OM is all this. The OM is all this.
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