अमृतत्वं देवेभ्य आगायानीत्यागायेत्स्वधां पितृभ्य आशां मनुष्येभ्यस्तृणोदकं पशुभ्यः स्वर्गं लोकं यजमानायान्नमात्मन आगायानीत्येतानि मनसा ध्यायन्नप्रमत्तः स्तुवीत ॥ २.२२.२ ॥
amṛtatvaṃ devebhya āgāyānītyāgāyetsvadhāṃ pitṛbhya āśāṃ manuṣyebhyastṛṇodakaṃ paśubhyaḥ svargaṃ lokaṃ yajamānāyānnamātmana āgāyānītyetāni manasā dhyāyannapramattaḥ stuvīta || 2.22.2 ||
2. One should sing with the resolve: ‘By singing I will get immortality for the gods and goddesses, food offerings for the ancestors, hope for humanity, food and water for the animals, heaven for those who perform sacrifices, and food for myself. All this I will get by singing.’ Thinking thus, one should sing without raising the voice too much [or, without being too excited].
Word-for-word explanation:
Āgāyet, one should sing [with the resolve]; amṛtatvam devebhyaḥ āgāyāni iti, I will get immortality for the gods and goddesses by singing; svadhām, offerings; pitṛbhyaḥ, for the ancestors; āśām manuṣyebhyaḥ, hope for humanity; tṛṇodakam paśubhyaḥ, food and water for the animals; svargam lokam, heavenly worlds; yajamānāya, for those who perform sacrifices; annam ātmane, food for myself; āgāyāni iti, I shall win by singing thus; etāni, all these; manasā dhyāyan, thinking mentally; apramattaḥ, without raising the voice too much; stuvīta, one should sing.
Commentary:
When you sing the Sāma, you should keep in mind the things you are singing for—such as immortality for the gods and goddesses, etc. But you must also take care that when you sing, your pronunciation and accents are correct, and that you do not miss any syllables.