6. KATHA - UPANISHAD
1ST_ADHYAYA|1ST_VALLI
KATHA-UPANISHAD
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FIRST ADHYAYA
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1. VAJASRAVA, desirous (of heavenly rewards), surrendered (at a
sacrifice) all that he possessed. He had a son of the name of
Nachiketas.
2. When the (promised) presents were being given (to the priests),
faith entered into the heart of Nachiketas, who was still a boy, and he
thought:
3. 'Unblessed, surely, are the worlds to which a man goes by
giving (as his promised present at a sacrifice) cows which have
drunk water, eaten hay, given their milk, and are barren.'
4. He (knowing that his father had promised to give up all that he
possessed, and therefore his son also) said to his father: 'Dear
father, to whom wilt thou give me?'
He said it a second and a third time. Then the father replied
(angrily):
'I shall give thee unto Death.'
(The father, having once said so, though in haste, had to be true to
his word and to sacrifice his son.)
5. The son said: 'I go as the first, at the head of many (who have
still to die); I go in the midst of many (who are now dying). What
will be the work of Yama (the ruler of the departed) which to-day he
has to do unto me?
6. 'Look back how it was with those who came before, look forward
how it will be with those who come hereafter. A mortal ripens like
corn, like corn he springs up again.'
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(Nachiketas enters into the abode of Yama Vaivasvata, and there is no
one to receive him. Thereupon one of the attendants of Yama is
supposed to say:)
7. 'Fire enters into the houses, when a Brahmana enters as a
guest. That fire is quenched by this peace-offering;- bring water, O
Vaivasvata!
8. 'A Brahmana that dwells in the house of a foolish man without
receiving food to eat, destroys his hopes and expectations, his
possessions, his righteousness, his sacred and his good deeds, and all
his sons and cattle.'
(Yama, returning to his house after an absence of three nights,
during which time Nachiketas had received no hospitality from him,
says:)
9. 'O Brahmana, as thou, a venerable guest, hast dwelt in my house
three nights without eating, therefore choose now three boons. Hail to
thee! and welfare to me!'
10. Nachiketas said: 'O Death, as the first of the three boons I
choose that Gautama, my father, be pacified, kind, and free from anger
towards me; and that he may know me and greet me, when I shall have
been dismissed by thee.'
11. Yama said: 'Through my favour Auddalaki Aruni, thy father,
will know thee, and be again towards thee as he was before. He shall
sleep peacefully through the night, and free from anger, after
having seen thee freed from the mouth of death.'
12. Nachiketas said: 'In the heaven-world there is no fear; thou
art not there, O Death, and no one is afraid on account of old age.
Leaving behind both hunger and thirst, and out of the reach of sorrow,
all rejoice in the world of heaven.'
13. 'Thou knowest, O Death, the fire-sacrifice which leads us to
heaven; tell it to me, for I am full of faith. Those who live in the
heaven-world reach immortality,- this I ask as my second boon.'
14. Yama said: 'I tell it thee, learn it from me, and when thou
understandest that fire-sacrifice which leads to heaven, know, O
Nachiketas, that it is the attainment of the endless worlds, and
their firm support, hidden in darkness.'
15. Yama then told him that fire-sacrifice, the beginning of all the
worlds, and what bricks are required for the altar, and how many,
and how they are to be placed. And Nachiketas repeated all as it had
been told to him. Then Mrityu, being pleased with him, said again:
16. The generous, being satisfied, said to him: 'I give thee now
another boon; that fire-sacrifice shall be named after thee, take also
this many-coloured chain.'
17. 'He who has three times performed this Nachiketa rite, and has
been united with the three (father, mother, and teacher), and has
performed the three duties (study, sacrifice, almsgiving) overcomes
birth and death. When he has learnt and understood this fire, which
knows (or makes us know) all that is born of Brahman, which is
venerable and divine, then he obtains everlasting peace.'
18. 'He who knows the three Nachiketa fires, and knowing the three,
piles up the Nachiketa sacrifice, he, having first thrown off the
chains of death, rejoices in the world of heaven, beyond the reach
of grief.'
19. 'This, O Nachiketas, is thy fire which leads to heaven, and which
thou hast chosen as thy second boon. That fire all men will
proclaim. Choose now, O Nachiketas, thy third boon.'
20. Nachiketas said: 'There is that doubt, when a man is dead,-
some saying, he is; others, he is not. This I should like to know,
taught by thee; this is the third of my boons.'
21. Death said: 'On this point even the gods have doubted
formerly; it is not easy to understand. That subject is subtle. Choose
another boon, O Nachiketas, do not press me, and let me off that boon.'
22. Nachiketas said: 'On this point even the gods have doubted
indeed, and thou, Death, hast declared it to be not easy to
understand, and another teacher like thee is not to be found:-
surely no other boon is like unto this.'
23. Death said: 'Choose sons and grandsons who shall live a
hundred years, herds of cattle, elephants, gold, and horses. Choose
the wide abode of the earth, and live thyself as many harvests as thou
desirest.'
24. 'If you can think of any boon equal to that, choose wealth,
and long life. Be (king), Nachiketas, on the wide earth. I make thee
the enjoyer of all desires.'
25. 'Whatever desires are difficult to attain among mortals, ask for
them according to thy wish;- these fair maidens with their chariots
and musical instruments,- such are indeed not to be obtained by
men,- be waited on by them whom I give to thee, but do not ask me
about dying.'
26. Nachiketas said: 'These things last till tomorrow, O Death, for
they wear out this vigour of all the senses. Even the whole of life is
short. Keep thou thy horses, keep dance and song for thyself.'
27. 'No man can be made happy by wealth. Shall we possess wealth,
when we see thee? Shall we live, as long as thou rulest? Only that
boon (which I have chosen) is to be chosen by me.'
28. 'What mortal, slowly decaying here below, and knowing, after
having approached them, the freedom from decay enjoyed by the
immortals, would delight in a long life, after he has pondered on
the pleasures which arise from beauty and love?'
29. 'No, that on which there is this doubt, O Death, tell us what
there is in that great Hereafter. Nachiketas does not choose another
boon but that which enters into the hidden world.'
1ST_ADHYAYA|2ND_VALLI
1. Death said: 'The good is one thing, the pleasant another; these
two, having different objects, chain a man. It is well with him who
clings to the good; he who chooses the pleasant, misses his end.'
2. 'The good and the pleasant approach man: the wise goes round
about them and distinguishes them. Yea, the wise prefers the good to
the pleasant, but the fool chooses the pleasant through greed and
avarice.'
3. 'Thou, O Nachiketas, after pondering all pleasures that are or
seem delightful, hast dismissed them all. Thou hast not gone into
the road that leadeth to wealth, in which many men perish.'
4. 'Wide apart and leading to different points are these two,
ignorance, and what is known as wisdom. I believe Nachiketas to be
one who desires knowledge, for even many pleasures did not tear thee
away.'
5. 'Fools dwelling in darkness, wise in their own conceit, and
puffed up with vain knowledge, go round and round, staggering to and
fro, like blind men led by the blind.'
6. 'The Hereafter never rises before the eyes of the careless child,
deluded by the delusion of wealth. "This is the world," he thinks,
"there is no other;"- thus he falls again and again under my sway.'
7. 'He (the Self) of whom many are not even able to hear, whom many,
even when they hear of him, do not comprehend; wonderful is a man,
when found, who is able to teach him (the Self); wonderful is he who
comprehends him, when taught by an able teacher.'
8. 'That (Self), when taught by an inferior man, is not easy to be
known, even though often thought upon; unless it be taught by another,
there is no way to it, for it is inconceivably smaller than what is
small.'
9. 'That doctrine is not to be obtained by argument, but when it
is declared by another, then, O dearest, it is easy to understand.
Thou hast obtained it now; thou art truly a man of true resolve. May
we have always an inquirer like thee!'
10. Nachiketas said: 'I know that what is called a treasure is
transient, for that eternal is not obtained by things which are not
eternal. Hence the Nachiketa fire(-sacrifice) has been laid by me
(first); then, by means of transient things, I have obtained what is
not transient (the teaching of Yama).'
11. Yama said: 'Though thou hadst seen the fulfillment of all
desires, the foundation of the world, the endless rewards of good
deeds, the shore where there is no fear, that which is magnified by
praise, the wide abode, the rest, yet being wise thou hast with firm
resolve dismissed it all.'
12. 'The wise who, by means of meditation on his Self, recognises
the Ancient, who is difficult to be seen, who has entered into the
dark, who is hidden in the cave, who dwells in the abyss, as God, he
indeed leaves joy and sorrow far behind.'
13. 'A mortal who has heard this and embraced it, who has
separated from it all qualities, and has thus reached the subtle
Being, rejoices, because he has obtained what is a cause for
rejoicing. The house (of Brahman) is open, I believe, O Nachiketas.'
14. Nachiketas said: 'That which thou seest as neither this nor that,
as neither effect nor cause, as neither past nor future, tell me
that.'
15. Yama said: 'That word (or place) which all the Vedas record,
which all penances proclaim, which men desire when they live as
religious students, that word I tell thee briefly, it is Om.'
16. 'That (imperishable) syllable means Brahman, that syllable means
the highest (Brahman); he who knows that syllable, whatever he
desires, is his.'
17. 'This is the best support, this is the highest support; he who
knows that support is magnified in the world of Brahma.'
18. 'The knowing (Self) is not born, it dies not; it sprang from
nothing, nothing sprang from it. The Ancient is unborn, eternal,
everlasting; he is not killed, though the body is killed.'
19. 'If the killer thinks that he kills, if the killed thinks that
he is killed, they do not understand; for this one does not kill,
nor is that one killed.'
20. 'The Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden
in the heart of that creature. A man who is free from desires and free
from grief, sees the majesty of the Self by the grace of the Creator.'
21. 'Though sitting still, he walks far; though lying down, he
goes everywhere. Who, save myself, is able to know that God who
rejoices and rejoices not?'
22. 'The wise who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as
unchanging among changing things, as great and omnipresent, does never
grieve.'
23. 'That Self cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by understanding,
nor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be
gained. The Self chooses him (his body) as his own.'
24. 'But he who has not first turned away from his wickedness, who
is not tranquil, and subdued, or whose mind is not at rest, he can
never obtain the Self (even) by knowledge.'
25. 'Who then knows where He is, He to whom the Brahmans and
Kshatriyas are (as it were) but food, and death itself a condiment?'
1ST_ADHYAYA|3RD_VALLI
1. 'There are the two, drinking their reward in the world of their
own works, entered into the cave (of the heart), dwelling on the
highest summit (the ether in the heart). Those who know Brahman call
them shade and light; likewise, those householders who perform the
Trinakiketa sacrifice.'
2. 'May we be able to master that Nachiketa rite which is a bridge
for sacrificers; also that which is the highest, imperishable
Brahman for those who wish to cross over to the fearless shore.'
3. 'Know the Self to be sitting in the chariot, the body to be the
chariot, the intellect (Budhi) the charioteer, and the mind the
reins.'
4. 'The senses they call the horses, the objects of the senses their
roads. When he (the Highest Self) is in union with the body, the
senses, and the mind, then wise people call him the Enjoyer.'
5. 'He who has no understanding and whose mind (the reins) is
never firmly held, his senses (horses) are unmanageable, like
vicious horses of a charioteer.'
6. 'But he who has understanding and whose mind is always firmly
held, his senses are under control, like good horses of a charioteer.'
7. 'He who has no understanding, who is unmindful and always impure,
never reaches that place, but enters into the round of births.'
8. 'But he who has understanding, who is mindful and always pure,
reaches indeed that place, from whence he is not born again.'
9. 'But he who has understanding for his charioteer, and who holds
the reins of the mind, he reaches the end of his journey, and that
is the highest place of Vishnu.'
10. 'Beyond the senses there are the objects, beyond the objects
there is the mind, beyond the mind there is the intellect, the Great
Self is beyond the intellect.'
11. 'Beyond the Great there is the Undeveloped, beyond the
Undeveloped there is the Person (Purusha). Beyond the Person there
is nothing- this is the goal, the highest road.'
12. 'That Self is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth, but
it is seen by subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect.'
13. 'A wise man should keep down speech and mind; he should keep
them within the Self which is knowledge; he should keep knowledge
within the Self which is the Great; and he should keep that (the
Great) within the Self which is the Quiet.'
14. 'Rise, awake! having obtained your boons, understand them! The
sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the
path (to the Self) is hard.'
15. 'He who has perceived that which is without sound, without
touch, without form, without decay, without taste, eternal, without
smell, without beginning, without end, beyond the Great, and
unchangeable, is freed from the jaws of death.'
16. 'A wise man who has repeated or heard the ancient story of
Nachiketas told by Death, is magnified in the world of Brahman.'
17. 'And he who repeats this greatest mystery in an assembly of
Brahmans, or full of devotion at the time of the Shraddha sacrifice,
obtains thereby infinite rewards.'
2ND_ADHYAYA|4TH_VALLI
SECOND ADHYAYA
1. Death said: 'The Self-existent pierced the openings (of the
senses) so that they turn forward: therefore man looks forward, not
backward into himself. Some wise man, however, with his eyes closed
and wishing for immortality, saw the Self behind.'
2. 'Children follow after outward pleasures, and fall into the snare
of wide-spread death. Wise men only, knowing the nature of what is
immortal, do not look for anything stable here among things unstable.'
3. 'That by which we know form, taste, smell, sounds, and loving
touches, by that also we know what exists besides. This is that (which
thou hast asked for).'
4. 'The wise, when he knows that that by which he perceives all
objects in sleep or in waking is the great omnipresent Self, grieves
no more.'
5. 'He who knows this living soul which eats honey (perceives
objects) as being the Self, always near, the Lord of the past and
the future, henceforward fears no more. This is that.'
6. 'He who (knows) him who was born first from the brooding heat
(for he was born before the water), who, entering into the heart,
abides therein, and was perceived from the elements. This is that.'
7. '(He who knows) Aditi also, who is one with all deities, who
arises with Prana (breath or Hiranyagarbha), who, entering into the
heart, abides therein, and was born from the elements. This is that.'
8. 'There is Agni (fire), the all-seeing, hidden in the two
fire-sticks, well-guarded like a child (in the womb) by the mother,
day after day to be adored by men when they awake and bring oblations.
This is that.'
9. 'And that whence the sun rises, and whither it goes to set, there
all the Devas are contained, and no one goes beyond. This is that.'
10. 'What is here (visible in the world), the same is there
(invisible in Brahman); and what is there, the same is here. He who
sees any difference here (between Brahman and the world), goes from
death to death.'
11. 'Even by the mind this (Brahman) is to be obtained, and then
there is no difference whatsoever. He goes from death to death who
sees any difference here.'
12. 'The person (Purusha), of the size of a thumb, stands in the
middle of the Self (body?), as lord of the past and the future, and
henceforward fears no more. This is that.'
13. 'That person, of the size of a thumb, is like a light without
smoke, lord of the past and the future, he is the same to-day and
to-morrow. This is that.'
14. 'As rain-water that has fallen on a mountain-ridge runs down the
rocks on all sides, thus does he, who sees a difference between
qualities, run after them on all sides.'
15. 'As pure water poured into pure water remains the same, thus,
O Gautama, is the Self of a thinker who knows.'
2ND_ADHYAYA|5TH_VALLI
1. 'There is a town with eleven gates belonging to the Unborn
(Brahman), whose thoughts are never crooked. He who approaches it,
grieves no more, and liberated (from all bonds of ignorance) becomes
free. This is that.'
2. 'He (Brahman) is the swan (sun), dwelling in the bright heaven;
he is the Vasu (air), dwelling in the sky; he is the sacrificer
(fire), dwelling on the hearth; he is the guest (Soma), dwelling in
the sacrificial jar; he dwells in men, in gods (vara), in the
sacrifice (rita), in heaven; he is born in the water, on earth, in the
sacrifice (rita), on the mountains; he is the True and the Great.'
3. 'He (Brahman) it is who sends up the breath (Prana), and who
throws back the breath (Apana). All the Devas (senses) worship him,
the adorable (or the dwarf), who sits in the centre.'
4. 'When that incorporated (Brahman), who dwells in the body, is
torn away and freed from the body, what remains then? This is that.'
5. 'No mortal lives by the breath that goes up and by the breath
that goes down. We live by another, in whom these two repose.'
6. 'Well then, O Gautama, I shall tell thee this mystery, the old
Brahman, and what happens to the Self, after reaching death.'
7. 'Some enter the womb in order to have a body, as organic
beings, others go into inorganic matter, according to their work and
according to their knowledge.'
8. 'He, the highest Person, who is awake in us while we are
asleep, shaping one lovely sight after another, that indeed is the
Bright, that is Brahman, that alone is called the Immortal. All worlds
are contained in it, and no one goes beyond. This is that.'
9. 'As the one fire, after it has entered the world, though one,
becomes different according to whatever it burns, thus the one Self
within all things becomes different, according to whatever it
enters, and exists also without.'
10. 'As the one air, after it has entered the world, though one,
becomes different according to whatever it enters, thus the one Self
within all things becomes different, according to whatever it
enters, and exists also without.'
11. 'As the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not contaminated
by the external impurities seen by the eyes, thus the one Self
within all things is never contaminated by the misery of the world,
being himself without.'
12. 'There is one ruler, the Self within all things, who makes the
one form manifold. The wise who perceive him within their Self, to
them belongs eternal happiness, not to others.'
13. 'There is one eternal thinker, thinking non-eternal thoughts,
who, though one, fulfils the desires of many. The wise who perceive
him within their Self, to them belongs eternal peace, not to others.'
14. 'They perceive that highest indescribable pleasure, saying, This
is that. How then can I understand it? Has it its own light, or does
it reflect light?'
15. 'The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor
these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines,
everything shines after him; by his light all this is lighted.'
2ND_ADHYAYA|6TH_VALLI
1. 'There is that ancient tree, whose roots grow upward and whose
branches grow downward;- that indeed is called the Bright, that is
called Brahman, that alone is called the Immortal. All worlds are
contained in it, and no one goes beyond. This is that.'
2. 'Whatever there is, the whole world, when gone forth (from the
Brahman), trembles in its breath. That Brahman is a great terror, like
a drawn sword. Those who know it become immortal.'
3. 'From terror of Brahman fire burns, from terror the sun burns,
from terror Indra and Vayu, and Death, as the fifth, run away.'
4. 'If a man could not understand it before the falling asunder of
his body, then he has to take body again in the worlds of creation.'
5. 'As in a mirror, so (Brahman may be seen clearly) here in this
body; as in a dream, in the world of the Fathers; as in the water,
he is seen about in the world of the Gandharvas; as in light and
shade, in the world of Brahma.'
6. 'Having understood that the senses are distinct (from the Atman),
and that their rising and setting (their waking and sleeping)
belongs to them in their distinct existence (and not to the Atman),
a wise man grieves no more.'
7. 'Beyond the senses is the mind, beyond the mind is the highest
(created) Being, higher than that Being is the Great Self, higher than
the Great, the highest Undeveloped.'
8. 'Beyond the Undeveloped is the Person, the all-pervading and
entirely imperceptible. Every creature that knows him is liberated,
and obtains immortality.'
9. 'His form is not to be seen, no one beholds him with the eye.
He is imagined by the heart, by wisdom, by the mind. Those who know
this, are immortal.'
10. 'When the five instruments of knowledge stand still together
with the mind, and when the intellect does not move, that is called
the highest state.'
11. 'This, the firm holding back of the senses, is what is called
Yoga. He must be free from thoughtlessness then, for Yoga comes and
goes.'
12. 'He (the Self) cannot be reached by speech, by mind, or by the
eye. How can it be apprehended except by him who says: "He is?"'
13. 'By the words "He is," is he to be apprehended, and by
(admitting) the reality of both (the invisible Brahman and the visible
world, as coming from Brahman). When he has been apprehended by the
words "He is," then his reality reveals itself.'
14. 'When all desires that dwell in his heart cease, then the mortal
becomes immortal, and obtains Brahman.'
15. 'When all the ties of the heart are severed here on earth,
then the mortal becomes immortal- here ends the teaching.'
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16. 'There are a hundred and one arteries of the heart, one of
them penetrates the crown of the head. Moving upwards by it, a man (at
his death) reaches the Immortal; the other arteries serve for
departing in different directions.'
17. 'The Person not larger than a thumb, the inner Self, is always
settled in the heart of men. Let a man draw that Self forth from his
body with steadiness, as one draws the pith from a reed. Let him
know that Self as the Bright, as the Immortal; yes, as the Bright,
as the Immortal.'
18. Having received this knowledge taught by Death and the whole
rule of Yoga (meditation), Nachiketa became free from passion and
death, and obtained Brahman. Thus it will be with another also who
knows thus what relates to the Self.
19. May He protect us both! May He enjoy us both! May we acquire
strength together! May our knowledge become bright! May we never
quarrel! Om! Peace! peace! peace! Hari, Om!
OM - SHANTI - SHANTI - SHANTI