Upanishads · Kaṭha 4.15
॥
Devanāgarī
यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धम् आसिक्तं तादृग् एव भवति ।
एवं मुनेर् विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम
Transliteration (IAST)
yathodakaṃ śuddhe śuddham āsiktaṃ tādṛg eva bhavati /
evaṃ muner vijānata ātmā bhavati gautama
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यथाyathāhow; like
उदकम्udakamwater; water
शुद्धेśuddheinto pure [water]; into the clear; into the untroubled
शुद्धम्śuddhampure; purified
आसिक्तम्āsiktampoured in (ā-√sic — 'to pour into'); poured; shed into
तादृक्tādṛkthe very same (tādṛś — 'of that kind'); the like; just such
एवevaindeed; truly
भवतिbhavatibecomes; is
एवम्evamthus; in this way
मुनेःmuneḥof the silent sage (muni); of the muni; of the contemplative
विजानतःvijānataḥwho discerns (vi-√jñā); who distinguishes; who has understood
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the self
भवतिbhavatibecomes; is manifested
गौतमgautamaO Gautama; Naciketas of the line of Gautama
Translation
As pure water poured into pure becomes the very same, so, O Gautama, becomes the self of the sage who [truly] discerns.
Version
a88a5c28289e · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The reverse image: yathodakaṁ śuddhe śuddham āsiktam tādṛg eva bhavati — "as pure water poured into pure becomes the very same". Not into crags but into a clear pool; not a splitting but a joining. evaṁ muner vijānata ātmā bhavati — "so becomes the self of the discerning sage": the soul, purified by discrimination, on entering into communion with the Pure grows like Him — takes on His clarity, His peace, His taste.
The image speaks of a co-quality, and it must be read exactly: water poured into water is not annihilated — there is no less water, there is an indistinguishable purity. So the soul in union is not extinguished: she becomes tādṛk — "the very same", like in quality; her own turbidity — the ripple of desires, the silt of egoity — she loses; herself she does not. A unity of taste, not an arithmetical vanishing: a salt drop would vanish in a freshwater sea; pure in pure is perfect.
gautama — for the first time in a long while Yama calls his pupil by his family name: the tenderness of a conversation's close. The fifth vallī, which begins next, will speak of the City with eleven gates — of how the Pure One dwells in the body and how He is to be known there.