वाग् वाव नाम्नो भूयसी । वाग् वा ऋग्वेदं विज्ञापयति यजुर्वेदं सामवेदम् आथर्वणं चतुर्थम् इतिहासपुराणं पञ्चमं वेदानां वेदं पित्र्यं राशिं दैवं निधिं वाकोवाक्यम् एकायनं देवविद्यां ब्रह्मविद्यां भूतविद्यां क्षत्रविद्यां नक्षत्रविद्यां सर्पदेवजनविद्यां दिवं च पृथिवीं च वायुं चाकाशं चापश् च तेजश् च देवांश् च मनुष्यांश् च पशूंश् च वयांसि च तृणवनस्पतीञ् श्वापदान्य् आकीटपतङ्गपिपीलकं धर्मं चाधर्मं । च सत्यं चानृतं च साधु चासाधु च हृदयज्ञं चाहृदयज्ञं च । यद् वै वाङ् नाभविष्यन् न धर्मो नाधर्मो व्यज्ञापयिष्यन् न सत्यं नानृतं न साधु नासाधु न हृदयज्ञो नाहृदयज्ञः । वाग् एवैतद् सर्वं विज्ञापयति वाचम् उपास्स्वेति
vāg vāva nāmno bhūyasī | vāg vā ṛgvedaṃ vijñāpayati yajurvedaṃ sāmavedam ātharvaṇaṃ caturtham itihāsapurāṇaṃ pañcamaṃ vedānāṃ vedaṃ pitryaṃ rāśiṃ daivaṃ nidhiṃ vākovākyam ekāyanaṃ devavidyāṃ brahmavidyāṃ bhūtavidyāṃ kṣatravidyāṃ nakṣatravidyāṃ sarpadevajanavidyāṃ divaṃ ca pṛthivīṃ ca vāyuṃ cākāśaṃ cāpaś ca tejaś ca devāṃś ca manuṣyāṃś ca paśūṃś ca vayāṃsi ca tṛṇavanaspatīñ śvāpadāny ākīṭapataṅgapipīlakaṃ dharmaṃ cādharmaṃ | ca satyaṃ cānṛtaṃ ca sādhu cāsādhu ca hṛdayajñaṃ cāhṛdayajñaṃ ca | yad vai vāṅ nābhaviṣyan na dharmo nādharmo vyajñāpayiṣyan na satyaṃ nānṛtaṃ na sādhu nāsādhu na hṛdayajño nāhṛdayajñaḥ | vāg evaitad sarvaṃ vijñāpayati vācam upāssveti
'Speech is better than a name. Speech makes us understand the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, Sâma-veda, and as the fourth the Âtharvana, as the fifth the Itihâsa-purâna, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the Râsi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vâkovâkya, the Ekâyana, the Deva-vidyâ, the Brahma-vidyâ, the Kshatra-vidyâ, the Nakshatra-vidyâ, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidyâ; heaven, earth, air, ether, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false; what is good and what is bad; what is pleasing and what is not pleasing. For if there were no speech, neither right nor wrong would be known, neither the true nor the false, neither the good nor the bad, neither the pleasant nor the unpleasant. Speech makes us understand all this. Meditate on speech.
Translated by F. Max Müller