{"schema_version":1,"access":"public","rights":"Public-domain or compatibly licensed source editions; provenance is retained per record.","work":{"slug":"katha-upanishad","title":"Katha Upanishad","author":"Anonymous","tradition":"hindu","language":"sa","genre":"Upanishad","period":"c. 5th–3rd c. BCE","source_url":"https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80&oldid=403120","original":{"text":"### Part One, First Valli\n\nॐ सह नाववतु ।\nसह नौ भुनक्तु ।\nसहवीर्यं करवावहै ।\nतेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।\nमा विद्विषावहै ॥\nॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥\n\n1.1.1 ॐ उशन् ह वै वाजश्रवसः सर्ववेदसं ददौ ।\nतस्य ह नचिकेता नाम पुत्र आस ॥\n\n1.1.2 तँ ह कुमारँ सन्तं दक्षिणासु\nनीयमानासु श्रद्धाविवेश सोऽमन्यत\n\n1.1.3 पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः ।\nअनन्दा नाम ते लोकास्तान् स गच्छति ता ददत्\n\n1.1.4 स होवाच पितरं तत कस्मै मां दास्यसीति ।\nद्वितीयं तृतीयं तँ होवाच मृत्यवे त्वा ददामीति\n\n1.1.5 बहूनामेमि प्रथमो बहूनामेमि मध्यमः ।\nकिँ स्विद्यमस्य कर्तव्यं यन्मयाऽद्य करिष्यति\n\n1.1.6 अनुपश्य यथा पूर्वे प्रतिपश्य तथाऽपरे ।\nसस्यमिव मर्त्यः पच्यते सस्यमिवाजायते पुनः\n\n1.1.7 वैश्वानरः प्रविशत्यतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो गृहान् ।\nतस्यैताँ शान्तिं कुर्वन्ति हर वैवस्वतोदकम्\n\n1.1.8 आशाप्रतीक्षे संगतँ सूनृतां\nचेष्टापूर्ते पुत्रपशूँश्च सर्वान् ।\nएतद्वृङ्क्ते पुरुषस्याल्पमेधसो\nयस्यानश्नन्वसति ब्राह्मणो गृहे\n\n1.1.9 तिस्रो रात्रीर्यदवात्सीर्गृहे मे-\nऽनश्नन् ब्रह्मन्नतिथिर्नमस्यः ।\nनमस्तेऽस्तु ब्रह्मन् स्वस्ति मेऽस्तु\nतस्मात्प्रति त्रीन्वरान्वृणीष्व\n\n1.1.10 शान्तसंकल्पः सुमना यथा स्याद्\nवीतमन्युर्गौतमो माऽभि मृत्यो ।\nत्वत्प्रसृष्टम् माऽभिवदेत्प्रतीत\nएतत् त्रयाणां प्रथमं वरं वृणे\n\n1.1.11 यथा पुरस्ताद् भविता प्रतीत\nऔद्दालकिरारुणिर्मत्प्रसृष्टः ।\nसुखँ रात्रीः शयिता वीतमन्युः\nत्वां ददृशिवान्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुक्तम्\n\n1.1.12 स्वर्गे लोके न भयं किंचनास्ति\nन तत्र त्वं न जरया बिभेति ।\nउभे तीर्त्वाऽशनायापिपासे\nशोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके\n\n1.1.13 स त्वमग्निँ स्वर्ग्यमध्येषि मृत्यो\nप्रब्रूहि त्वँ श्रद्दधानाय मह्यम् ।\nस्वर्गलोका अमृतत्वं भजन्त\nएतद् द्वितीयेन वृणे वरेण\n\n1.1.14 प्र ते ब्रवीमि तदु मे निबोध\nस्वर्ग्यमग्निं नचिकेतः प्रजानन् ।\nअनन्तलोकाप्तिमथो प्रतिष्ठां\nविद्धि त्वमेतं निहितं गुहायाम्\n\n1.1.15 लोकादिमग्निं तमुवाच तस्मै\nया इष्टका यावतीर्वा यथा वा ।\nस चापि तत्प्रत्यवदद्यथोक्तं\nअथास्य मृत्युः पुनरेवाह तुष्टः\n\n1.1.16 तमब्रवीत् प्रीयमाणो महात्मा\nवरं तवेहाद्य ददामि भूयः ।\nतवैव नाम्ना भविताऽयमग्निः\nसृङ्कां चेमामनेकरूपां गृहाण\n\n1.1.17 त्रिणाचिकेतस्त्रिभिरेत्य सन्धिं\nत्रिकर्मकृत्तरति जन्ममृत्यू ।\nब्रह्मजज्ञं देवमीड्यं विदित्वा\nनिचाय्येमाँ शान्तिमत्यन्तमेति\n\n1.1.18 त्रिणाचिकेतस्त्रयमेतद्विदित्वा\nय एवं विद्वाँश्चिनुते नाचिकेतम् ।\nस मृत्युपाशान् पुरतः प्रणोद्य\nशोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके\n\n1.1.19 एष तेऽग्निर्नचिकेतः स्वर्ग्यो\nयमवृणीथा द्वितीयेन वरेण ।\nएतमग्निं तवैव प्रवक्ष्यन्ति जनासः\nतृतीयं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व\n\n1.1.20 येयं प्रेते विचिकित्सा मनुष्ये-\nऽस्तीत्येके नायमस्तीति चैके ।\nएतद्विद्यामनुशिष्टस्त्वयाऽहं\nवराणामेष वरस्तृतीयः\n\n1.1.21 देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं पुरा\nन हि सुविज्ञेयमणुरेष धर्मः ।\nअन्यं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व\nमा मोपरोत्सीरति मा सृजैनम्\n\n1.1.22 देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं किल\nत्वं च मृत्यो यन्न सुज्ञेयमात्थ ।\nवक्ता चास्य त्वादृगन्यो न लभ्यो\nनान्यो वरस्तुल्य एतस्य कश्चित्\n\n1.1.23 शतायुषः पुत्रपौत्रान्वृणीष्वा\nबहून्पशून् हस्तिहिरण्यमश्वान् ।\nभूमेर्महदायतनं वृणीष्व\nस्वयं च जीव शरदो यावदिच्छसि\n\n1.1.24 एतत्तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं\nवृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।\nमहाभूमौ नचिकेतस्त्वमेधि\nकामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि\n\n1.1.25 ये ये कामा दुर्लभा मर्त्यलोके\nसर्वान् कामाँश्छन्दतः प्रार्थयस्व ।\nइमा रामाः सरथाः सतूर्या\nन हीदृशा लम्भनीया मनुष्यैः ।\nआभिर्मत्प्रत्ताभिः परिचारयस्व\nनचिकेतो मरणं माऽनुप्राक्षीः\n\n1.1.26 श्वोभावा मर्त्यस्य यदन्तकैतत्\nसर्वेंद्रियाणां जरयंति तेजः ।\nअपि सर्वं जीवितमल्पमेव\nतवैव वाहास्तव नृत्यगीते\n\n1.1.27 न वित्तेन तर्पणीयो मनुष्यो\nलप्स्यामहे वित्तमद्राक्ष्म चेत्त्वा ।\nजीविष्यामो यावदीशिष्यसि त्वं\nवरस्तु मे वरणीयः स एव\n\n1.1.28 अजीर्यताममृतानामुपेत्य\nजीर्यन्मर्त्यः क्वधःस्थः प्रजानन् ।\nअभिध्यायन् वर्णरतिप्रमोदान्\nअतिदीर्घे जीविते को रमेत\n\n1.1.29 यस्मिन्निदं विचिकित्सन्ति मृत्यो\nयत्साम्पराये महति ब्रूहि नस्तत् ।\nयोऽयं वरो गूढमनुप्रविष्टो\nनान्यं तस्मान्नचिकेता वृणीते\n\n### Part One, Second Valli\n\n1.2.1 अन्यच्छ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेय-\nस्ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषँ सिनीतः ।\nतयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु\nभवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते\n\n1.2.2 श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतः\nतौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।\nश्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते\nप्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते\n\n1.2.3 स त्वं प्रियान्प्रियरूपांश्च कामान्\nअभिध्यायन्नचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः ।\nनैतां सृङ्कां वित्तमयीमवाप्तो\nयस्यां मज्जन्ति बहवो मनुष्याः\n\n1.2.4 दूरमेते विपरीते विषूची\nअविद्या या च विद्येति ज्ञाता ।\nविद्याभीप्सिनं नचिकेतसं मन्ये\nन त्वा कामा बहवोऽलोलुपन्त\n\n1.2.5 अविद्यायामन्तरे वर्तमानाः\nस्वयं धीराः पण्डितंमन्यमानाः ।\nदन्द्रम्यमाणाः परियन्ति मूढा\nअन्धेनैव नीयमाना यथान्धाः\n\n1.2.6 न साम्परायः प्रतिभाति बालं\nप्रमाद्यन्तं वित्तमोहेन मूढम् ।\nअयं लोको नास्ति पर इति मानी\nपुनः पुनर्वशमापद्यते मे\n\n1.2.7 श्रवणायापि बहुभिर्यो न लभ्यः\nशृण्वन्तोऽपि बहवो यं न विद्युः ।\nआश्चर्यो वक्ता कुशलोऽस्य लब्धा\nआश्चर्यो ज्ञाता कुशलानुशिष्टः\n\n1.2.8 न नरेणावरेण प्रोक्त एष\nसुविज्ञेयो बहुधा चिन्त्यमानः ।\nअनन्यप्रोक्ते गतिरत्र नास्ति\nअणीयान् ह्यतर्क्यमणुप्रमाणात्\n\n1.2.9 नैषा तर्केण मतिरापनेया\nप्रोक्तान्येनैव सुज्ञानाय प्रेष्ठ ।\nयां त्वमापः सत्यधृतिर्बतासि\nत्वादृङ्नो भूयान्नचिकेतः प्रष्टा\n\n1.2.10 जानाम्यहं शेवधिरित्यनित्यं\nन ह्यध्रुवैः प्राप्यते हि ध्रुवं तत् ।\nततो मया नाचिकेतश्चितोऽग्निः\nअनित्यैर्द्रव्यैः प्राप्तवानस्मि नित्यम्\n\n1.2.11 कामस्याप्तिं जगतः प्रतिष्ठां\nक्रतोरानन्त्यमभयस्य पारम् ।\nस्तोममहदुरुगायं प्रतिष्ठां दृष्ट्वा\nधृत्या धीरो नचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः\n\n1.2.12 तं दुर्दर्शं गूढमनुप्रविष्टं\nगुहाहितं गह्वरेष्ठं पुराणम् ।\nअध्यात्मयोगाधिगमेन देवं\nमत्वा धीरो हर्षशोकौ जहाति\n\n1.2.13 एतच्छ्रुत्वा सम्परिगृह्य मर्त्यः\nप्रवृह्य धर्म्यमणुमेतमाप्य ।\nस मोदते मोदनीयँ हि लब्ध्वा\nविवृतँ सद्म नचिकेतसं मन्ये\n\n1.2.14 अन्यत्र धर्मादन्यत्राधर्मा-\nदन्यत्रास्मात्कृताकृतात् ।\nअन्यत्र भूताच्च भव्याच्च\nयत्तत्पश्यसि तद्वद\n\n1.2.15 सर्वे वेदा यत्पदमामनन्ति\nतपाँसि सर्वाणि च यद्वदन्ति ।\nयदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति\nतत्ते पदँ संग्रहेण ब्रवीम्योमित्येतत्\n\n1.2.16 एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं परम् ।\nएतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा यो यदिच्छति तस्य तत्\n\n1.2.17 एतदालम्बनँ श्रेष्ठमेतदालम्बनं परम् ।\nएतदालम्बनं ज्ञात्वा ब्रह्मलोके महीयते\n\n1.2.18 न जायते म्रियते वा विपश्चिन्\nनायं कुतश्चिन्न बभूव कश्चित् ।\nअजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो\nन हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे\n\n1.2.19 हन्ता चेन्मन्यते हन्तुँ हतश्चेन्मन्यते हतम् ।\nउभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायँ हन्ति न हन्यते\n\n1.2.20 अणोरणीयान्महतो महीया-\nनात्माऽस्य जन्तोर्निहितो गुहायाम् ।\nतमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको\nधातुप्रसादान्महिमानमात्मनः\n\n1.2.21 आसीनो दूरं व्रजति शयानो याति सर्वतः ।\nकस्तं मदामदं देवं मदन्यो ज्ञातुमर्हति\n\n1.2.22 अशरीरँ शरीरेष्वनवस्थेष्ववस्थितम् ।\nमहान्तं विभुमात्मानं मत्वा धीरो न शोचति\n\n1.2.23 नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो\nन मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन ।\nयमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्यः\nतस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनूँ स्वाम्\n\n1.2.24 नाविरतो दुश्चरितान्नाशान्तो नासमाहितः ।\nनाशान्तमानसो वाऽपि प्रज्ञानेनैनमाप्नुयात्\n\n1.2.25 यस्य ब्रह्म च क्षत्रं च उभे भवत ओदनः ।\nमृत्युर्यस्योपसेचनं क इत्था वेद यत्र सः\n\n### Part One, Third Valli\n\n1.3.1 ऋतं पिबन्तौ सुकृतस्य लोके\nगुहां प्रविष्टौ परमे परार्धे ।\nछायातपौ ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति\nपञ्चाग्नयो ये च त्रिणाचिकेताः\n\n1.3.2 यः सेतुरीजानानामक्षरं ब्रह्म यत् परम् ।\nअभयं तितीर्षतां पारं नाचिकेतँ शकेमहि\n\n1.3.3 आत्मानँ रथिनं विद्धि शरीरँ रथमेव तु ।\nबुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च\n\n1.3.4 इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयाँ स्तेषु गोचरान् ।\nआत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः\n\n1.3.5 यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्ययुक्तेन मनसा सदा ।\nतस्येन्द्रियाण्यवश्यानि दुष्टाश्वा इव सारथेः\n\n1.3.6 यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति युक्तेन मनसा सदा ।\nतस्येन्द्रियाणि वश्यानि सदश्वा इव सारथेः\n\n1.3.7 यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्यमनस्कः सदाऽशुचिः ।\nन स तत्पदमाप्नोति संसारं चाधिगच्छति\n\n1.3.8 यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति समनस्कः सदा शुचिः ।\nस तु तत्पदमाप्नोति यस्माद्भूयो न जायते\n\n1.3.9 विज्ञानसारथिर्यस्तु मनः प्रग्रहवान्नरः ।\nसोऽध्वनः पारमाप्नोति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्\n\n1.3.10 इन्द्रियेभ्यः परा ह्यर्था अर्थेभ्यश्च परं मनः ।\nमनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्बुद्धेरात्मा महान्परः\n\n1.3.11 महतः परमव्यक्तमव्यक्तात्पुरुषः परः ।\nपुरुषान्न परं किंचित्सा काष्ठा सा परा गतिः\n\n1.3.12 एष सर्वेषु भूतेषु गूढोऽऽत्मा न प्रकाशते ।\nदृश्यते त्वग्र्यया बुद्ध्या सूक्ष्मया सूक्ष्मदर्शिभिः\n\n1.3.13 यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञस्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि ।\nज्ञानमात्मनि महति नियच्छेत्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि\n\n1.3.14 उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत\nप्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।\nक्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया\nदुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति\n\n1.3.15 अशब्दमस्पर्शमरूपमव्ययं\nतथाऽरसं नित्यमगन्धवच्च यत् ।\nअनाद्यनन्तं महतः परं ध्रुवं\nनिचाय्य तन्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुच्यते\n\n1.3.16 नाचिकेतमुपाख्यानं मृत्युप्रोक्तँ सनातनम् ।\nउक्त्वा श्रुत्वा च मेधावी ब्रह्मलोके महीयते\n\n1.3.17 य इमं परमं गुह्यं श्रावयेद् ब्रह्मसंसदि ।\nप्रयतः श्राद्धकाले वा तदानन्त्याय कल्पते ।\nतदानन्त्याय कल्पत इति\n\n### Part Two, First Valli\n\n2.1.1 पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-\nस्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।\nकश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-\nदावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन्\n\n2.1.2 पराचः कामाननुयन्ति बाला-\nस्ते मृत्योर्यन्ति विततस्य पाशम् ।\nअथ धीरा अमृतत्वं विदित्वा\nध्रुवमध्रुवेष्विह न प्रार्थयन्ते\n\n2.1.3 येन रूपं रसं गन्धं शब्दान् स्पर्शाँश्च मैथुनान् ।\nएतेनैव विजानाति किमत्र परिशिष्यते ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.4 स्वप्नान्तं जागरितान्तं चोभौ येनानुपश्यति ।\nमहान्तं विभुमात्मानं मत्वा धीरो न शोचति\n\n2.1.5 य इमं मध्वदं वेद आत्मानं जीवमन्तिकात् ।\nईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.6 यः पूर्वं तपसो जातमद्भ्यः पूर्वमजायत ।\nगुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तं यो भूतेभिर्व्यपश्यत ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.7 या प्राणेन संभवत्यदितिर्देवतामयी ।\nगुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तीं या भूतेभिर्व्यजायत ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.8 अरण्योर्निहितो जातवेदा गर्भ इव सुभृतो गर्भिणीभिः ।\nदिवे दिवे ईड्यो जागृवद्भिर्हविष्मद्भिर्मनुष्येभिरग्निः ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.9 यतश्चोदेति सूर्योऽस्तं यत्र च गच्छति ।\nतं देवाः सर्वेऽर्पितास्तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.10 यदेवेह तदमुत्र यदमुत्र तदन्विह ।\nमृत्योः स मृत्युमाप्नोति य इह नानेव पश्यति\n\n2.1.11 मनसैवेदमाप्तव्यं नेह नानाऽस्ति किंचन ।\nमृत्योः स मृत्युं गच्छति य इह नानेव पश्यति\n\n2.1.12 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो मध्य आत्मनि तिष्ठति ।\nईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.13 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो ज्योतिरिवाधूमकः ।\nईशानो भूतभव्यस्य स एवाद्य स उ श्वः ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.1.14 यथोदकं दुर्गे वृष्टं पर्वतेषु विधावति ।\nएवं धर्मान् पृथक् पश्यंस्तानेवानुविधावति\n\n2.1.15 यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धमासिक्तं तादृगेव भवति ।\nएवं मुनेर्विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम\n\n### Part Two, Second Valli\n\n2.2.1 पुरमेकादशद्वारमजस्यावक्रचेतसः ।\nअनुष्ठाय न शोचति विमुक्तश्च विमुच्यते ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.2.2 हँसः शुचिषद्वसुरान्तरिक्षसद्-\nहोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् ।\nनृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसद्\nअब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतं बृहत्\n\n2.2.3 ऊर्ध्वं प्राणमुन्नयत्यपानं प्रत्यगस्यति ।\nमध्ये वामनमासीनं विश्वे देवा उपासते\n\n2.2.4 अस्य विस्रंसमानस्य शरीरस्थस्य देहिनः ।\nदेहाद्विमुच्यमानस्य किमत्र परिशिष्यते ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.2.5 न प्राणेन नापानेन मर्त्यो जीवति कश्चन ।\nइतरेण तु जीवन्ति यस्मिन्नेतावुपाश्रितौ\n\n2.2.6 हन्त त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ।\nयथा च मरणं प्राप्य आत्मा भवति गौतम\n\n2.2.7 योनिमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते शरीरत्वाय देहिनः ।\nस्थाणुमन्येऽनुसंयन्ति यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतम्\n\n2.2.8 य एष सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कामं कामं पुरुषो निर्मिमाणः ।\nतदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते ।\nतस्मिँल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.2.9 अग्निर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो\nरूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव ।\nएकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा\nरूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च\n\n2.2.10 वायुर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो\nरूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव ।\nएकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा\nरूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च\n\n2.2.11 सूर्यो यथा सर्वलोकस्य चक्षुः\nन लिप्यते चाक्षुषैर्बाह्यदोषैः ।\nएकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा\nन लिप्यते लोकदुःखेन बाह्यः\n\n2.2.12 एको वशी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा\nएकं रूपं बहुधा यः करोति ।\nतमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीराः\nतेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषाम्\n\n2.2.13 नित्योऽनित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानाम्\nएको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान् ।\nतमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीराः\nतेषां शान्तिः शाश्वती नेतरेषाम्\n\n2.2.14 तदेतदिति मन्यन्तेऽनिर्देश्यं परमं सुखम् ।\nकथं नु तद्विजानीयां किमु भाति विभाति वा\n\n2.2.15 न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं\nनेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।\nतमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं\nतस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति\n\n### Part Two, Third Valli\n\n2.3.1 ऊर्ध्वमूलोऽवाक्शाख एषोऽश्वत्थः सनातनः ।\nतदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते ।\nतस्मिँल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।\nएतद्वै तत्\n\n2.3.2 यदिदं किं च जगत् सर्वं प्राण एजति निःसृतम् ।\nमहद्भयं वज्रमुद्यतं य एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति\n\n2.3.3 भयादस्याग्निस्तपति भयात्तपति सूर्यः ।\nभयादिन्द्रश्च वायुश्च मृत्युर्धावति पञ्चमः\n\n2.3.4 इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं प्राक्षरीरस्य विस्रसः ।\nततः सर्गेषु लोकेषु शरीरत्वाय कल्पते\n\n2.3.5 यथाऽऽदर्शे तथाऽऽत्मनि यथा स्वप्ने तथा पितृलोके ।\nयथाऽप्सु परीव ददृशे तथा गन्धर्वलोके\nछायातपयोरिव ब्रह्मलोके\n\n2.3.6 इन्द्रियाणां पृथग्भावमुदयास्तमयौ च यत् ।\nपृथगुत्पद्यमानानां मत्वा धीरो न शोचति\n\n2.3.7 इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनो मनसः सत्त्वमुत्तमम् ।\nसत्त्वादधि महानात्मा महतोऽव्यक्तमुत्तमम्\n\n2.3.8 अव्यक्तात्तु परः पुरुषो व्यापकोऽलिङ्ग एव च ।\nयं ज्ञात्वा मुच्यते जन्तुरमृतत्वं च गच्छति\n\n2.3.9 न संदृशे तिष्ठति रूपमस्य\nन चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनम् ।\nहृदा मनीषा मनसाऽभिक्लृप्तो\nय एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति\n\n2.3.10 यदा पञ्चावतिष्ठन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह ।\nबुद्धिश्च न विचेष्टते तामाहुः परमां गतिम्\n\n2.3.11 तां योगमिति मन्यन्ते स्थिरामिन्द्रियधारणाम् ।\nअप्रमत्तस्तदा भवति योगो हि प्रभवाप्ययौ\n\n2.3.12 नैव वाचा न मनसा प्राप्तुं शक्यो न चक्षुषा ।\nअस्तीति ब्रुवतोऽन्यत्र कथं तदुपलभ्यते\n\n2.3.13 अस्तीत्येवोपलब्धव्यस्तत्त्वभावेन चोभयोः ।\nअस्तीत्येवोपलब्धस्य तत्त्वभावः प्रसीदति\n\n2.3.14 यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः ।\nअथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते\n\n2.3.15 यथा सर्वे प्रभिद्यन्ते हृदयस्येह ग्रन्थयः ।\nअथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्येतावद्ध्यनुशासनम्\n\n2.3.16 शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्य-\nस्तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतैका ।\nतयोर्ध्वमायन्नमृतत्वमेति\nविष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रमणे भवन्ति\n\n2.3.17 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषोऽन्तरात्मा\nसदा जनानां हृदये संनिविष्टः ।\nतं स्वाच्छरीरात्प्रवृहेन्मुञ्जादिवेषीकां धैर्येण ।\nतं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतं तं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतमिति\n\n2.3.18 मृत्युप्रोक्तां नचिकेतोऽथ लब्ध्वा\nविद्यामेतां योगविधिं च कृत्स्नम् ।\nब्रह्मप्राप्तो विरजोऽभूद्विमृत्यु-\nरन्योऽप्येवं यो विदध्यात्ममेव\n\nसह नाववतु ।\nसह नौ भुनक्तु ।\nसह वीर्यं करवावहै ।\nतेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥ १९ ॥\nॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥\nॐ सह नाववतु ।\nसह नौ भुनक्तु ।\nसहवीर्यं करवावहै ।\nतेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।\nमा विद्विषावहै ॥\nॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥\nॐ तत् सत् ॥","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/katha-upanishad/original.txt"},"translations":[{"id":"trn_katha_upanishad_mouseia","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"curated","note":"Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit, passage for passage, covering both chapters, all six vallīs and 119 verses with the peace invocation.","text":"### Part One, First Valli\n\nOm. May he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study shine brightly.\nMay we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\n\n1.1.1 Om. Vajashravasa, seeking favor, gave away all he possessed.\nHe had a son named Nachiketas.\n\n1.1.2 As the gifts were being led away, faith entered\nthat boy's heart, and he thought:\n\n1.1.3 “Cows that have drunk their water, eaten their grass, yielded their milk, lost their strength—\njoyless indeed are the worlds reached by one who gives such gifts.”\n\n1.1.4 He said to his father, “Father, to whom will you give me?”\nA second time, then a third, he asked; his father said, “To Death I give you.”\n\n1.1.5 “Among many I rank first; among many I rank midway.\nWhat task has Yama that he will accomplish through me today?”\n\n1.1.6 “Look back at those before us; look also at those who follow.\nLike grain a mortal ripens; like grain he is born again.”\n\n1.1.7 “A Brahmin guest enters houses like the universal fire.\nTo appease him they offer this: ‘Son of the Sun, bring water!’”\n\n1.1.8 Hopes and expectations, the fruit of fellowship and kind words,\nthe fruit of sacrifice and good works, sons and cattle—all these\nare stripped from the man of little understanding\nin whose house a Brahmin dwells without food.\n\n1.1.9 “Three nights you have stayed in my house\nwithout food, Brahmin, an honored guest.\nHomage to you, Brahmin; may all be well with me.\nFor this choose three wishes in return.”\n\n1.1.10 “May Gautama be calm of purpose and gracious,\nfree of anger toward me, O Death;\nwhen you send me back, may he greet me with recognition.\nThis I choose as the first of my three wishes.”\n\n1.1.11 “As before, he will recognize you;\nAruni Auddalaki will greet you when I send you back.\nHe will sleep peacefully at night, his anger gone,\nwhen he sees you freed from the mouth of Death.”\n\n1.1.12 “In heaven's world there is no fear at all;\nyou are not there, nor does anyone fear old age.\nCrossing beyond both hunger and thirst,\nfree of sorrow, one rejoices in heaven's world.\n\n1.1.13 You know the fire that leads to heaven, O Death;\ntell me of it, for I have faith.\nThose who dwell in heaven share in immortality:\nthis I choose for my second wish.”\n\n1.1.14 “I shall tell you; attend to my words,\nNachiketas, for I know the heavenly fire.\nKnow it as the means of attaining endless worlds, the foundation,\nthis fire hidden in the heart's secret place.”\n\n1.1.15 He taught him the fire that is the origin of worlds,\nwhat bricks to use, how many, and how to place them.\nNachiketas repeated it just as he had been taught;\nthen Death, pleased, spoke to him again.\n\n1.1.16 Delighted, the great one said to him,\n“Here and now I give you another gift.\nThis fire shall bear your own name;\ntake also this necklace of many forms.\n\n1.1.17 One who performs the Nachiketas fire three times, joins with the three,\nand carries out the three works crosses birth and death.\nKnowing the worshipful god born of Brahman,\nand recognizing him, one reaches this everlasting peace.\n\n1.1.18 One who performs the Nachiketas fire three times and knows these three things,\nand, knowing, builds the Nachiketas fire,\ncasts off the snares of Death before him\nand, free of sorrow, rejoices in heaven's world.\n\n1.1.19 This, Nachiketas, is the heavenly fire\nyou chose as your second wish.\nPeople will call this fire by your name alone.\nChoose your third wish, Nachiketas.”\n\n1.1.20 “When a person has died, this doubt arises:\nsome say he exists, others that he does not.\nI would know this, instructed by you;\nthis is the third of my wishes.”\n\n1.1.21 “Even the gods once doubted this;\nit is no easy thing to know, so subtle is this truth.\nChoose another wish, Nachiketas;\ndo not press me. Release me from this.”\n\n1.1.22 “Even the gods doubted this, you say,\nand you, Death, say it is not easy to know.\nNo other teacher like you can be found;\nno other wish can equal this one.”\n\n1.1.23 “Choose sons and grandsons who live a hundred years,\nmany cattle, elephants, gold, and horses.\nChoose a vast domain on earth;\nlive yourself for as many autumns as you wish.\n\n1.1.24 If you think another wish equal to this,\nchoose wealth and long life.\nBecome lord of a broad land, Nachiketas;\nI shall make you the enjoyer of every desire.\n\n1.1.25 Whatever desires are hard to obtain in the mortal world,\nask freely for them all.\nHere are lovely women with chariots and music,\nsuch as mortals cannot attain.\nLet them serve you; I give them to you.\nNachiketas, do not ask me about death.”\n\n1.1.26 “Such things last only until tomorrow, O Ender of life,\nand wear away the vigor of all the senses.\nEven the whole of life is brief.\nKeep your horses, your dancing and song.\n\n1.1.27 Wealth can never satisfy a human being.\nWe shall have wealth if we have seen you;\nwe shall live as long as you permit us.\nBut the wish I choose is still that one.\n\n1.1.28 When an aging mortal has met the deathless who do not age,\nand knows what lies beneath, how could he\ndelight in colors, pleasures, and celebrations,\nor in a life stretched out for long?\n\n1.1.29 Tell us, Death, what they doubt:\nwhat happens in the great passage beyond.\nThis wish penetrates the hidden mystery;\nNachiketas chooses no other.”\n\n### Part One, Second Valli\n\n1.2.1 The good is one thing, the pleasant another;\nboth bind a person, each to a different end.\nAll goes well for one who takes the good;\none who chooses the pleasant misses the true aim.\n\n1.2.2 The good and the pleasant approach a human being;\nthe wise consider both and distinguish them.\nThe wise choose the good over the pleasant;\nthe foolish choose the pleasant for gain and security.\n\n1.2.3 You, Nachiketas, saw and rejected\ndesires, lovely and seemingly dear.\nYou did not take the necklace made of wealth\nin which so many people sink.\n\n1.2.4 Far apart, opposed, leading in different directions\nare what are called ignorance and knowledge.\nI consider Nachiketas a seeker of knowledge;\nyour many desires have not enticed you.\n\n1.2.5 Living in the midst of ignorance,\nthinking themselves wise and learned,\nfools wander in circles, stumbling,\nlike the blind led by the blind.\n\n1.2.6 The world beyond does not appear to the child\nmade heedless and deluded by wealth.\nThinking, “This world alone exists; there is no other,”\nhe falls again and again into my power.\n\n1.2.7 Many never even have the chance to hear of him;\nmany who hear do not understand him.\nWondrous is his teacher, skillful his seeker;\nwondrous is one who knows him, taught by the skillful.\n\n1.2.8 Taught by a lesser person, this one cannot easily\nbe understood, however much one ponders him.\nWhen taught by one who is not other than him, doubt has no foothold;\nhe is subtler than the measure of the subtle, beyond reasoning.\n\n1.2.9 This insight cannot be reached by argument;\ntaught by another, it is well understood, dear one.\nYou have attained it; you are steadfast in truth.\nMay we have more questioners like you, Nachiketas.\n\n1.2.10 I know that the treasure called wealth is impermanent;\nwhat endures cannot be reached through things that do not.\nYet I built the Nachiketas fire,\nand with transient things attained the enduring.\n\n1.2.11 Fulfillment of desire, foundation of the world,\nlimitless fruit of ritual, the shore beyond fear,\nthe great and widely praised foundation—you saw these\nand, wise Nachiketas, resolutely let them go.\n\n1.2.12 Knowing through inward contemplation the ancient god,\nhard to see, hidden deep within,\nseated in the secret chamber of the heart,\nthe wise leave both joy and sorrow behind.\n\n1.2.13 Hearing this, a mortal takes it to heart,\ndraws out and reaches this subtle truth of being.\nHaving found what brings delight, he rejoices;\nI believe the door stands open to Nachiketas.\n\n1.2.14 “What you see beyond right and wrong,\nbeyond what is done and what is not done,\nbeyond what has been and what will be—\ntell me of that.”\n\n1.2.15 “The goal proclaimed by all the Vedas,\nspoken of by every austerity,\nfor which people undertake the disciplined life:\nI tell you in brief. It is Om.\n\n1.2.16 This very syllable is Brahman; this syllable is the supreme.\nKnowing this very syllable, one obtains what one desires.\n\n1.2.17 This is the finest support; this is the supreme support.\nKnowing this support, one is exalted in the world of Brahman.\n\n1.2.18 The knowing Self is neither born nor dies;\nit did not spring from anything, nor did anything spring from it.\nUnborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient,\nit is not killed when the body is killed.\n\n1.2.19 If the killer thinks he kills, or the killed thinks he is killed,\nneither understands: this one neither kills nor is killed.\n\n1.2.20 Smaller than the small, greater than the great,\nthe Self lies hidden in a creature's heart.\nOne without desire, freed from sorrow, sees\nthrough the serenity of the senses the majesty of the Self.\n\n1.2.21 Sitting still, it travels far; lying down, it goes everywhere.\nWho but I can know that god, who is joy and beyond joy?\n\n1.2.22 Bodiless among bodies, abiding among the unstable,\nthe great, all-pervading Self: knowing it, the wise do not grieve.\n\n1.2.23 This Self cannot be gained through recitation,\nnor by intellect, nor by hearing much.\nIt is gained by the one whom the Self chooses;\nto that one the Self reveals its own form.\n\n1.2.24 Not one who has failed to turn from wrongdoing, nor one who lacks peace or composure,\nnor one whose mind is restless can reach it through understanding.\n\n1.2.25 For whom both priestly and royal power are food,\nand Death is a seasoning—who truly knows where that one is?”\n\n### Part One, Third Valli\n\n1.3.1 Two drink the truth in the world of good deeds,\nhaving entered the heart's cavern, the highest hidden place.\nKnowers of Brahman call them shadow and light,\nas do those who tend five fires and perform the Nachiketas rite three times.\n\n1.3.2 May we master the Nachiketas fire, bridge for sacrificers, and that supreme imperishable Brahman,\nthe fearless farther shore for those who seek to cross.\n\n1.3.3 Know the Self as the rider in a chariot, the body as the chariot;\nknow the intellect as the charioteer, the mind as the reins.\n\n1.3.4 The senses, they say, are horses, and their objects are the roads they range.\nThe wise call the Self joined with senses and mind the one who experiences.\n\n1.3.5 If a person lacks understanding and the mind is never controlled,\nthe senses run wild, like vicious horses under a charioteer.\n\n1.3.6 But if a person has understanding and the mind is always controlled,\nthe senses obey, like fine horses under a charioteer.\n\n1.3.7 One who lacks understanding, whose mind is unruly and who remains impure,\ndoes not reach that goal, but enters the cycle of rebirth.\n\n1.3.8 But one who has understanding, whose mind is steady and who remains pure,\nreaches that goal from which one is never born again.\n\n1.3.9 The person whose charioteer is understanding, who holds the reins of the mind,\nreaches the journey's far shore, that highest abode of Vishnu.\n\n1.3.10 Beyond the senses are their objects; beyond the objects is the mind.\nBeyond the mind is the intellect; beyond the intellect is the Great Self.\n\n1.3.11 Beyond the Great Self is the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest is the Person.\nBeyond the Person there is nothing: that is the limit, the highest goal.\n\n1.3.12 This Self is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth;\nbut the discerning see it with the keen and subtle intellect.\n\n1.3.13 The wise should draw speech into the mind, and the mind into the knowing self;\ndraw the knowing self into the Great Self, and that into the Self at peace.\n\n1.3.14 Rise. Awake.\nReach the excellent teachers and understand.\nThe razor's edge is sharp and hard to cross;\nthe wise say that path is difficult.\n\n1.3.15 What has no sound, touch, form, or decay,\nno taste or smell, what endures forever,\nwithout beginning or end, beyond the Great Self, unchanging—\nknowing that, one is freed from the mouth of Death.\n\n1.3.16 The ancient story of Nachiketas, told by Death:\nthe wise who recite it or hear it are honored in Brahman's world.\n\n1.3.17 Whoever recites this supreme secret in an assembly of Brahmins,\nor in purity at the time of offerings to ancestors, becomes fit for eternity.\nYes, becomes fit for eternity.\n\n### Part Two, First Valli\n\n2.1.1 The Self-existent made the openings of the senses face outward;\nso one looks outward, not into the inner Self.\nBut a certain wise one, longing for immortality,\nturned his gaze back and saw the Self within.\n\n2.1.2 The foolish pursue desires outside themselves\nand enter the far-flung snare of Death.\nBut the wise, knowing immortality,\ndo not seek the lasting among transient things here.\n\n2.1.3 By that one knows form, taste, scent, sound, touch, and the pleasures of union.\nWhat remains here beyond its knowing?\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.4 By that one sees both the realm of dreams and the realm of waking.\nKnowing the great, all-pervading Self, the wise do not grieve.\n\n2.1.5 Whoever knows at close hand this living Self, the enjoyer of sweetness,\nthe lord of what has been and what will be, no longer recoils from anything.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.6 Whoever has seen among beings the one born of ardor in the beginning, born before the waters,\nand standing within the secret chamber of the heart—\nthis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.7 She who arises with the breath of life, Aditi filled with the gods,\nwho entered the heart's chamber and stands there, born along with beings—\nthis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.8 The all-knowing fire rests in the two fire-sticks, well tended like an embryo in the womb.\nDay after day Agni is worthy of worship by watchful people who bring offerings.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.9 That from which the sun rises, and into which it sets:\nall gods rest in it; none passes beyond it.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.10 What is here is just what is there; what is there is likewise here.\nFrom death to death goes one who sees multiplicity here.\n\n2.1.11 Only by the mind can this be grasped; there is no multiplicity here at all.\nFrom death to death goes one who sees multiplicity here.\n\n2.1.12 The thumb-sized Person stands in the center of the self,\nlord of what has been and what will be; one no longer recoils from anything.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.13 The thumb-sized Person is like a flame without smoke,\nlord of what has been and what will be; he is today and he is tomorrow.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.1.14 As rain falling on steep mountains runs down in many streams,\nso one who sees the natures of things as separate runs after them.\n\n2.1.15 As pure water poured into pure water becomes just like it,\nso becomes the Self of the sage who knows, Gautama.\n\n### Part Two, Second Valli\n\n2.2.1 One who attends to the eleven-gated city of the unborn, whose awareness is unwavering,\ndoes not grieve; set free, one is released.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.2.2 The swan dwelling in purity, the spirit dwelling in the middle air,\nthe priest at the altar, the guest within the home,\ndwelling in people, in the best, in truth, in the sky,\nborn of waters, born of cattle, born of truth, born of stone: the great truth.\n\n2.2.3 It draws the upward breath upward and drives the downward breath down;\nall the gods worship the small one seated in their midst.\n\n2.2.4 When this embodied being dwelling in the body is loosened,\nwhen it is released from the body, what remains here?\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.2.5 No mortal lives by the upward or the downward breath.\nThey live by something other, on which both these breaths depend.\n\n2.2.6 Now I will tell you of the hidden, eternal Brahman,\nand what becomes of the Self when death arrives, Gautama.\n\n2.2.7 Some embodied beings enter wombs to take on bodies;\nothers pass into things that stand still, according to their deeds and understanding.\n\n2.2.8 The Person who stays awake among sleepers, fashioning desire after desire:\nthat alone is the pure, that is Brahman, that is called immortal.\nIn it all worlds are founded; none passes beyond it.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.2.9 As a single fire enters the world\nand assumes the form of each form,\nso the one Self within all beings\nassumes each form and yet remains outside them.\n\n2.2.10 As a single wind enters the world\nand assumes the form of each form,\nso the one Self within all beings\nassumes each form and yet remains outside them.\n\n2.2.11 As the sun, the eye of the whole world,\nis not stained by the outward flaws of the eyes,\nso the one Self within all beings\nis not stained by the world's suffering; it remains beyond.\n\n2.2.12 The one sovereign Self within all beings\nmakes its one form manifold.\nThe wise who see it dwelling within themselves\nhave everlasting joy, and no others do.\n\n2.2.13 The eternal among transient things, the conscious among conscious beings,\nthe one who supplies the desires of the many:\nthe wise who see it dwelling within themselves\nhave everlasting peace, and no others do.\n\n2.2.14 They think, “This is that,” the supreme joy beyond description.\nHow could I know it? Does it shine, or does it shine by another's light?\n\n2.2.15 There the sun does not shine, nor moon nor stars;\nlightning does not shine there, let alone this fire.\nAll things shine only after that shining one;\nby its light all this is lit.\n\n### Part Two, Third Valli\n\n2.3.1 This eternal fig tree has its roots above, its branches below.\nThat alone is the pure; that is Brahman, that is called immortal.\nIn it all worlds are founded; none passes beyond it.\nThis indeed is that.\n\n2.3.2 All this world, whatever exists, trembles in the life-breath from which it has emerged.\nIt is a great terror, a thunderbolt raised high; those who know it become immortal.\n\n2.3.3 In fear of it fire burns; in fear of it the sun shines.\nIn fear of it Indra and the wind, and Death as the fifth, speed on.\n\n2.3.4 If one can know it here before the body falls apart—\notherwise one is bound to take a body in the worlds of created things.\n\n2.3.5 As in a mirror, so in the self; as in a dream, so in the world of the ancestors.\nAs seen, faintly, in water, so in the world of the Gandharvas;\nas light against shadow, so in the world of Brahman.\n\n2.3.6 Knowing the senses as distinct, and their arising and setting,\neach coming into being separately, the wise do not grieve.\n\n2.3.7 Beyond the senses is the mind; above the mind is the higher intellect.\nAbove the intellect is the Great Self; above the Great Self is the Unmanifest.\n\n2.3.8 Beyond the Unmanifest is the Person, all-pervading and without mark.\nKnowing him, a living being is freed and reaches immortality.\n\n2.3.9 His form does not stand within sight;\nno one sees him with the eyes.\nHe is apprehended through heart, discernment, and mind;\nthose who know this become immortal.\n\n2.3.10 When the five senses of knowledge rest, together with the mind,\nand the intellect no longer stirs, that is called the highest state.\n\n2.3.11 This, they hold, is yoga: the steady holding of the senses.\nOne must then be vigilant, for yoga comes and goes.\n\n2.3.12 Not by speech or mind or eyes can he be reached.\nHow else can he be grasped, except by saying, “He is”?\n\n2.3.13 One must apprehend him as existing and also in his true nature, both ways.\nFor one who has apprehended him as existing, his true nature becomes clear.\n\n2.3.14 When all desires lodged in a person's heart are released,\nthen the mortal becomes immortal and reaches Brahman here.\n\n2.3.15 When all the knots of the heart are cut apart here,\nthen the mortal becomes immortal. This is the whole teaching.\n\n2.3.16 A hundred and one channels run from the heart;\none of them rises through the crown of the head.\nAscending by that one, a person reaches immortality;\nthe others lead in every direction at departure.\n\n2.3.17 The thumb-sized Person, the inner Self,\nis always lodged in the hearts of people.\nDraw him steadily out of your own body, as a stalk from a reed.\nKnow him as pure and immortal; know him as pure and immortal.\n\n2.3.18 Nachiketas received this knowledge spoken by Death,\nand the entire discipline of yoga.\nHe attained Brahman, free of stain and death;\nso does anyone else who comes to know the Self in this way.\n\nMay he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study shine brightly; may we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\nOm. May he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study shine brightly.\nMay we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\nOm. That is the Real.","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/katha-upanishad/translations/trn_katha_upanishad_mouseia.txt"},{"id":"trn_katha_upanishad_plain","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"plain","note":"Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Sanskrit, covering both chapters, all six vallīs and 119 verses with the peace invocation.","text":"### Part One, First Valli\n\nOm. May he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study be fruitful.\nMay we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\n\n1.1.1 Om. Vajashravasa, wanting a reward, gave away everything he owned.\nHe had a son named Nachiketas.\n\n1.1.2 As the gifts were being taken away, faith came over\nhis young son, and he thought:\n\n1.1.3 “They have drunk their water, eaten their grass, given their milk, and lost their strength.\nWhoever gives such cows goes to worlds without joy.”\n\n1.1.4 He said to his father, “Father, to whom will you give me?”\nHe asked a second and third time. His father said, “I give you to Death.”\n\n1.1.5 “Among many I rank first; among many I rank somewhere in the middle.\nWhat does Yama have to do that he will do with me today?”\n\n1.1.6 “Look at those who lived before, and look likewise at those who live now.\nLike grain, a mortal ripens; like grain, a mortal is born again.”\n\n1.1.7 “A Brahmin guest enters a home like fire.\nTo calm that fire they bring water. Son of the Sun, bring water.”\n\n1.1.8 Hopes and expectations, good company and kind speech,\nrewards for sacrifices and public works, sons and livestock, all of them:\nthese are taken away from a person of little understanding\nwhen a Brahmin stays in his house without food.\n\n1.1.9 “You have stayed in my house for three nights\nwithout eating, honored Brahmin guest.\nI bow to you, Brahmin. May all be well with me.\nSo choose three wishes in return.”\n\n1.1.10 “May Gautama be free from worry and in good spirits,\nno longer angry with me, Death.\nWhen you release me, may he recognize me and speak to me.\nI choose this as the first of my three wishes.”\n\n1.1.11 “He will recognize you as before.\nAruni Auddalaki will accept you when I release you.\nHe will sleep peacefully at night, free of anger,\nwhen he sees you freed from Death’s mouth.”\n\n1.1.12 “In the world of heaven there is no fear at all;\nyou are not there, and people do not fear old age.\nHaving passed beyond both hunger and thirst,\npeople live happily there, beyond sorrow.”\n\n1.1.13 “Death, you know the fire ritual that leads to heaven.\nTeach it to me, since I trust you.\nThose in heaven share in immortality.\nThis is what I choose as my second wish.”\n\n1.1.14 “I will tell you; listen closely.\nNachiketas, I know the fire that leads to heaven.\nKnow it as the way to reach a world without end and as its foundation;\nit is hidden in the heart’s secret place.”\n\n1.1.15 He told Nachiketas about the fire that begins the worlds:\nwhich bricks are needed, how many, and how they must be laid.\nNachiketas repeated it just as he had been taught.\nThen Death, pleased with him, spoke again.\n\n1.1.16 The great one spoke to him with pleasure:\n“Today I give you one more wish.\nThis fire will be named after you.\nTake this necklace with its many forms as well.”\n\n1.1.17 Whoever performs the Nachiketas fire three times, joins with the three,\nand does the three prescribed acts passes beyond birth and death.\nKnowing the divine one, born of Brahman and worthy of praise,\nand seeing this fire clearly, one reaches lasting peace.\n\n1.1.18 Whoever knows these three things about the threefold Nachiketas fire\nand builds it with that knowledge\npushes away the bonds of death before they close\nand lives happily in heaven, beyond sorrow.\n\n1.1.19 “This is the fire leading to heaven, Nachiketas,\nwhich you chose as your second wish.\nPeople will call this fire by your name.\nChoose your third wish, Nachiketas.”\n\n1.1.20 “When a person dies, there is this doubt:\nsome say the person still exists; others say the person does not.\nI want you to teach me the answer.\nThis is the third of my wishes.”\n\n1.1.21 “Even the gods once doubted this.\nThis truth is subtle and hard to understand.\nChoose a different wish, Nachiketas.\nDo not press me on this. Release me from this request.”\n\n1.1.22 “Even the gods doubted it, you say,\nand you, Death, say it is hard to understand.\nNo other teacher like you can be found,\nand no other wish compares with this one.”\n\n1.1.23 “Choose sons and grandsons who live a hundred years,\nmany cattle, elephants, gold, and horses.\nChoose a large territory of land,\nand live yourself for as many years as you wish.”\n\n1.1.24 “If you think any wish compares with this, choose\nwealth and a long life.\nNachiketas, rule a vast land.\nI will let you enjoy every pleasure you desire.”\n\n1.1.25 “Ask for any pleasures that are hard to get in the mortal world,\nas many as you like.\nHere are women with chariots and musical instruments;\nno human being can obtain women like these.\nLet them attend you as my gift,\nNachiketas. Do not ask about death.”\n\n1.1.26 “Destroyer of life, these things last only until tomorrow;\nthey wear out the strength of all the senses.\nEven a whole lifetime is short.\nKeep your chariots, your dancing and your songs.\n\n1.1.27 Wealth cannot satisfy a person.\nIf we have seen you, we will get wealth.\nWe will live as long as you allow us to.\nBut the wish I choose is still the same.\n\n1.1.28 Once a mortal who grows old has met the immortals who do not age,\nhow could that person, living down here and understanding this,\nafter thinking about the pleasures of beauty and delight,\nfind pleasure in a very long life?\n\n1.1.29 Death, tell us what people doubt:\nwhat happens after the great passage beyond death.\nThis wish concerns a truth hidden deep away.\nNachiketas chooses no other.”\n\n### Part One, Second Valli\n\n1.2.1 The good is one thing and the pleasant another;\nthey have different aims, but both bind a person.\nThings go well for someone who chooses the good;\nsomeone who chooses the pleasant misses the true goal.\n\n1.2.2 The good and the pleasant both come to a person.\nA wise person weighs them and tells them apart.\nThe wise choose the good over the pleasant;\nthe foolish choose the pleasant to secure and keep what they have.\n\n1.2.3 Nachiketas, you considered and turned away\npleasures that looked attractive to you.\nYou did not take the chain made of wealth\nin which so many people sink.\n\n1.2.4 What people call ignorance and knowledge go in opposite directions\nand are far apart.\nI think you want knowledge, Nachiketas;\nmany pleasures did not tempt you.\n\n1.2.5 People living in ignorance\nthink they are wise and learned.\nConfused, they wander around,\nlike blind people led by another blind person.\n\n1.2.6 The life to come is not clear to a thoughtless person,\nwho is careless and confused by wealth.\nThinking, “This world exists, and no other does,”\nsuch a person falls under my power again and again.\n\n1.2.7 Many people never even get to hear about the Self;\nmany who hear about it still do not understand it.\nThe person who explains it is rare, and finding a skilled student is rare;\nthe person who understands it after skillful teaching is rare.\n\n1.2.8 When someone of lesser understanding teaches it,\nit cannot easily be understood, however much one thinks about it.\nWhen taught by one who knows it as not separate from themselves, there is no confusion about the way to it;\nit is subtler than the smallest measure and cannot be reached by reasoning.\n\n1.2.9 This understanding cannot be reached by argument.\nIt becomes clear when taught by someone who knows it, dear one.\nYou have gained it, and you hold firmly to the truth.\nMay we have other questioners like you, Nachiketas.\n\n1.2.10 I know that a treasure is impermanent;\nwhat lasts cannot be reached by things that do not last.\nSo I built the Nachiketas fire;\nwith things that do not last, I reached what lasts.\n\n1.2.11 You saw the fulfillment of desire, the foundation of the world,\nthe endless reward of sacrifice, the far shore of fearlessness,\nthe great and widely praised foundation;\nbut you wisely and firmly turned these things down, Nachiketas.\n\n1.2.12 The ancient divine Self is hard to see, hidden deep within,\nset in the heart's secret place.\nBy finding it through inward contemplation,\nthe wise person leaves both joy and sorrow behind.\n\n1.2.13 When a mortal hears this, takes it in,\nand separates out and reaches this subtle truth,\nthat person is glad, having found a source of gladness.\nI think the door is open for you, Nachiketas.\n\n1.2.14 “Tell me what you see that is beyond right\nand wrong, beyond what is done and not done,\nand beyond what has happened and what will happen.\nTell me about that.”\n\n1.2.15 “All the Vedas speak of one goal,\nand all acts of discipline point to it.\nPeople live as students of sacred knowledge because they want it.\nI will tell you briefly what it is: Om.\n\n1.2.16 This syllable is indeed Brahman; this syllable is the highest reality.\nWhoever knows this syllable gets what they desire.\n\n1.2.17 It is the best support; it is the highest support.\nKnowing this support, one is honored in the world of Brahman.\n\n1.2.18 The knowing Self is not born and does not die;\nit did not come from anything, nor did anything come from it.\nUnborn, eternal, lasting, ancient,\nit is not killed when the body is killed.\n\n1.2.19 If a killer thinks they kill it, or someone killed thinks it has been killed,\nneither understands. It does not kill and cannot be killed.\n\n1.2.20 Smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest,\nthe Self is hidden in the heart of every living being.\nSomeone without selfish desire sees it and is free of sorrow;\nthrough the calm of the senses, that person sees the greatness of the Self.\n\n1.2.21 Sitting still, it travels far; lying down, it goes everywhere.\nWho but I can know this divine being, which is both joyful and beyond joy?\n\n1.2.22 The Self has no body, yet stays in bodies that do not last.\nKnowing this great, all-pervading Self, a wise person does not grieve.\n\n1.2.23 The Self is not reached by instruction,\nor by intelligence, or by hearing much teaching.\nOnly the person whom the Self chooses can reach it;\nto that person the Self shows its own nature.\n\n1.2.24 Someone who has not stopped wrongdoing, who is not calm or focused,\nand whose mind is not at peace cannot reach it through understanding.\n\n1.2.25 For the one to whom priests and warriors alike are food,\nand death is a seasoning, who knows where that one is?\n\n### Part One, Third Valli\n\n1.3.1 Two beings drink the results of good deeds in this world;\nthey have entered the heart's cave, in the highest place.\nThose who know Brahman call them shadow and sunlight,\nas do those who maintain five fires and perform the threefold Nachiketas rite.\n\n1.3.2 May we master the Nachiketas fire, a bridge for those who sacrifice,\nand know the eternal, highest Brahman, the safe far shore for those who wish to cross.\n\n1.3.3 Know the Self as the rider and the body as the chariot.\nKnow the intellect as the driver and the mind as the reins.\n\n1.3.4 The senses are called the horses, and the things they perceive are their paths.\nThe wise call the Self, joined with the senses and mind, the one who experiences.\n\n1.3.5 When someone lacks understanding and their mind is always uncontrolled,\ntheir senses cannot be controlled, like bad horses for a driver.\n\n1.3.6 But when someone understands and their mind is always controlled,\ntheir senses can be controlled, like good horses for a driver.\n\n1.3.7 Someone without understanding, whose mind is inattentive and who is never pure,\ndoes not reach that goal but returns to the cycle of life and death.\n\n1.3.8 But someone with understanding, whose mind is attentive and who is always pure,\nreaches that goal, from which no one is born again.\n\n1.3.9 A person whose driver is understanding and whose reins are the mind\nreaches the journey's far end: the highest place of Vishnu.\n\n1.3.10 The things perceived are beyond the senses, and the mind is beyond those things.\nThe intellect is beyond the mind, and the Great Self is beyond the intellect.\n\n1.3.11 The Unmanifest is beyond the Great Self, and the Person is beyond the Unmanifest.\nNothing is beyond the Person. That is the final point, the highest goal.\n\n1.3.12 This Self is hidden in all beings and does not appear openly.\nBut people with subtle insight see it through a keen and subtle intellect.\n\n1.3.13 A wise person should draw speech into the mind and draw the mind into the knowing self.\nThey should draw that knowledge into the Great Self and that into the peaceful Self.\n\n1.3.14 Get up! Wake up!\nGo to the best teachers and learn.\nThe edge of a razor is sharp and hard to cross;\nthe wise say that this path is hard to follow.\n\n1.3.15 It has no sound or touch or form and does not change;\nit has no taste or smell and lasts forever.\nIt has no beginning or end; it is beyond the Great Self and remains fixed.\nKnowing it, one is freed from the mouth of death.\n\n1.3.16 A wise person who tells or hears this ancient story of Nachiketas,\nwhich Death told, is honored in the world of Brahman.\n\n1.3.17 Whoever, with care, tells this highest secret to a gathering of people who know Brahman,\nor during the time of an offering for the dead, becomes fit for endless life.\nYes, fit for endless life.\n\n### Part Two, First Valli\n\n2.1.1 The Self-existent One made the senses face outward;\nso people look outward, not at the Self within.\nBut one wise person turned their eyes inward and saw the inner Self,\nwanting to be free from death.\n\n2.1.2 Foolish people follow pleasures outside themselves\nand enter death's wide-spread trap.\nBut wise people know there is freedom from death\nand do not seek what lasts forever among things that do not last.\n\n2.1.3 What is it through which one knows forms, tastes, smells, sounds, touches, and sexual pleasure?\nWhat remains beyond it?\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.4 Through it one sees both the dream state and the waking state.\nKnowing the great Self that is everywhere, a wise person does not grieve.\n\n2.1.5 One who knows this nearby living Self, which tastes life's rewards,\nas the ruler of past and future, does not shrink away from anything after that.\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.6 Whoever sees the one born before all else from the heat of creation, born before the waters,\nwho has entered and stays in the heart's cave among living beings:\nthis is that.\n\n2.1.7 The divine mother Aditi, who comes to be with the life breath,\nwho has entered and stays in the heart's cave, and was born with living beings:\nthis is that.\n\n2.1.8 Fire, which knows all that is born, is hidden in the two fire sticks, like a child carefully carried in a pregnant woman.\nEvery day, people who stay alert and bring offerings should honor the fire.\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.9 It is where the sun rises and where it sets.\nAll the gods rest on it; no one goes beyond it.\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.10 What is here is there; what is there is also here.\nWhoever sees them as different here goes from death to death.\n\n2.1.11 Only the mind can grasp this: there is no difference here at all.\nWhoever sees difference here goes from death to death.\n\n2.1.12 The thumb-sized Person lives at the center of the Self.\nThis ruler of past and future causes one to shrink away from nothing.\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.13 The thumb-sized Person is like a flame without smoke.\nRuling past and future, it is the same today and tomorrow.\nThis is that.\n\n2.1.14 As rainwater falling on a mountain runs down in different directions,\nso someone who sees separate things runs after those very things.\n\n2.1.15 As clean water poured into clean water becomes just like it,\nso does the Self of a wise person who understands, Gautama.\n\n### Part Two, Second Valli\n\n2.2.1 The unborn one with clear awareness lives in a city with eleven gates.\nThose who know it do not grieve; freed from bondage, they become free.\nThis is that.\n\n2.2.2 It is the swan in the bright sky, the power in the air,\nthe priest at the altar, the guest in the house.\nIt lives in people, in the best place, in truth and in the heavens;\nit is born of water, earth, truth, and mountains: the great truth.\n\n2.2.3 It sends the breath of life upward and sends the downward breath inward.\nAll the gods honor the small being seated in the middle.\n\n2.2.4 When the being living in this body separates from it\nand is released from the body, what remains here?\nThis is that.\n\n2.2.5 No mortal lives by the upward breath or the downward breath alone.\nThey live by something else on which both these breaths depend.\n\n2.2.6 Now I will tell you about the secret, eternal Brahman,\nand what happens to the Self after death, Gautama.\n\n2.2.7 Some beings enter a womb to take on a body;\nothers enter what does not move, according to their actions and what they have learned.\n\n2.2.8 The Person stays awake while others sleep and makes one desire after another.\nIt is pure; it is Brahman; it is called deathless.\nAll the worlds rest on it, and no one goes beyond it.\nThis is that.\n\n2.2.9 Just as one fire enters the world\nand takes a form matching each thing it burns,\nso the one Self within all beings\ntakes on each form, yet also remains outside them.\n\n2.2.10 Just as one wind enters the world\nand takes a form matching each thing it enters,\nso the one Self within all beings\ntakes on each form, yet also remains outside them.\n\n2.2.11 Just as the sun, the eye of the whole world,\nis not stained by the flaws of the eyes that see it,\nso the one Self within all beings\nis not stained by the world's suffering, for it remains outside it.\n\n2.2.12 One ruler is the Self within all beings;\nit turns its one form into many.\nOnly the wise who see it within themselves\nhave lasting happiness, and no one else does.\n\n2.2.13 It is lasting among things that pass away, aware among those who are aware;\nit is one and provides for the needs of many.\nOnly the wise who see it within themselves\nhave lasting peace, and no one else does.\n\n2.2.14 People think, “This is that highest happiness, which cannot be described.”\nHow can I know it? Does it shine by itself, or does it shine through something else?\n\n2.2.15 The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and stars;\nlightning does not shine there, much less this fire.\nEverything shines because it shines;\nits light makes all this bright.\n\n### Part Two, Third Valli\n\n2.3.1 This eternal ashvattha tree has its roots above and its branches below.\nThat alone is pure, that is Brahman, and that is called deathless.\nAll worlds rest on it, and no one goes beyond it.\nThis is that.\n\n2.3.2 Everything in this world that has come forth moves within the life breath.\nIt is a great terror, like a raised thunderbolt. Those who know it become free from death.\n\n2.3.3 Out of fear of it, fire burns; out of fear, the sun shines.\nOut of fear, Indra and the wind move, and Death runs as the fifth.\n\n2.3.4 If someone manages to understand it here before the body falls apart,\nthat person is no longer destined to take a body in the worlds of created beings.\n\n2.3.5 It is seen as clearly as in a mirror here in the Self, and as in a dream in the world of the ancestors.\nIt is seen as if in water in the world of the Gandharvas,\nand as light and shadow in the world of Brahman.\n\n2.3.6 A wise person understands that the senses are separate,\nthat each arises separately and passes away, and does not grieve.\n\n2.3.7 The mind is beyond the senses; awareness is higher than the mind.\nThe Great Self is above awareness, and the Unmanifest is higher than the Great Self.\n\n2.3.8 The Person is beyond the Unmanifest; it is everywhere and has no identifying mark.\nKnowing it, a living being is set free and reaches immortality.\n\n2.3.9 Its form is not visible to the eye;\nno one can see it with their eyes.\nIt is understood through the heart, discernment, and the mind.\nThose who know it become free from death.\n\n2.3.10 When the five senses become still together with the mind,\nand the intellect stops working, that is called the highest state.\n\n2.3.11 They call that yoga: holding the senses steady.\nOne must stay alert then, for yoga can arise and pass away.\n\n2.3.12 It cannot be reached by speech, mind, or sight.\nHow could anyone perceive it except through someone who says, “It exists”?\n\n2.3.13 It must be understood both as existing and as it truly is.\nWhen it has been understood as existing, its true nature becomes clear.\n\n2.3.14 When all the desires lodged in a person's heart are released,\nthat mortal becomes free from death and reaches Brahman here.\n\n2.3.15 When all the knots in the heart are cut here,\nthat mortal becomes free from death. This is the whole teaching.\n\n2.3.16 There are a hundred and one channels in the heart;\none of these goes up through the top of the head.\nGoing upward through it, one reaches immortality;\nthe others lead in different directions when one leaves the body.\n\n2.3.17 The thumb-sized Person, the inner Self,\nis always seated in people's hearts.\nOne should patiently draw it out of the body as one draws a stem from a blade of grass.\nKnow it as pure and deathless; know it as pure and deathless.\n\n2.3.18 Nachiketas then received this knowledge taught by Death\nand the complete method of yoga.\nHe reached Brahman, became free from impurity and death;\nso does anyone else who comes to know the Self in this way.\n\nMay he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study be fruitful; may we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\nOm. May he protect us both.\nMay he nourish us both.\nMay we work together with strength.\nMay our study be fruitful.\nMay we not hate one another.\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\nOm. That is truth.","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/katha-upanishad/translations/trn_katha_upanishad_plain.txt"}],"retex_markdown_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/katha-upanishad/retex.md"}}