Upanishads · Kaṭha 4.5
॥
Devanāgarī
य इमं मध्वदं वेद आत्मानं जीवम् अन्तिकात् ।
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ॥
एतद् वै तत्
Transliteration (IAST)
ya imaṃ madhvadaṃ veda ātmānaṃ jīvam antikāt /
īśānaṃ bhūtabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate //
etad vai tat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यःyaḥwho; the one who
इमम्imamof this; of this
मध्वदम्madhvadamthe eater of honey (madhu-ad — 'honey-eater'); who drinks the honey [of the fruits of works]; the taster of sweetness
वेदvedaknows; realises
आत्मानम्ātmānamthe Ātman; the inner Self
जीवम्jīvamthe living soul (jīva); the living being; the jīva
अन्तिकात्antikātclose at hand (antika — 'nearness'); nearer than the near; right beside
ईशानम्īśānamthe Lord (īśāna — 'the ruling one'); the Lord; the Sovereign
भूतभव्यस्यbhūtabhavyasyaof what has been and what shall be (bhūta-bhavya); of past and future; of all times
नnanot; no
ततःtataḥafter this; for that reason
विजुगुप्सतेvijugupsatehe hides in fear (desiderative of √gup); shrinks back; shrinks from
एतत्etatthis; he
वैvaiverily; indeed
तत्tatthat; That
Translation
He who knows this eater of honey — the living soul, [present] close at hand — as the Lord of what has been and what shall be, no longer hides in fear. This, truly, is That.
Version
edfc109853d8 · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A verse in which the two from the secret place (vallī 3, verse 55) stand side by side. madhvadam… ātmānaṁ jīvam — "the eater of honey… the living soul": the jīva is the bee of experience, drinking the honey of the fruits of her deeds (madhu-ad — "honey-eater"); antikāt — "close at hand, nearer than the near". And at once: īśānaṁ bhūta-bhavyasya — "the Lord of what has been and what shall be". Both must be known — the enjoying soul and the Lord of time; he who knows both in their nearness and their difference na tato vijugupsate — "after that does not hide [in fear and aversion]".
The verb vijugupsate (the same as in the Īśa Upaniṣad, mantra 6) means both "shrinks away" and "hides, avoids": fear makes one hide — from the world, from the future, from oneself. The remedy for it is a double knowledge: I am an enjoying soul, not flung into the world an orphan: close beside me is the Master of past and future; the times are in His hand, and therefore the future is no enemy.
Note how insistently the Kaṭha holds both poles: vallī 4 speaks now of the witness in the being (verses 74–75), now of the Lord (76, 83–84), allowing neither their merging nor their parting. Shade and light (verse 55) go side by side through the whole book — as they should go through the heart of the knower.