Upanishads · Kaṭha 6.2
॥
Devanāgarī
यद् इदं किंच जगत् सर्वं प्राण एजति निःसृतम् ।
महद् भयं वज्रम् उद्यतं य एतद् विदुर् अमृतास् ते भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
yad idaṃ kiṃca jagat sarvaṃ prāṇa ejati niḥsṛtam /
mahad bhayaṃ vajram udyataṃ ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्yatwhat; that which
इदम्idamthis; the present
किंचkiṃcawhatever; all that
जगत्jagatthat which moves; the world
सर्वम्sarvamall; entirely
प्राणेprāṇein the prāṇa; in the life-force
एजतिejatitrembles (from √ej — 'to quiver'); stirs; shudders
निःसृतम्niḥsṛtamhaving issued forth (niḥ-√sṛ — 'to go out from'); having come out [from Him]; gone forth
महत्mahatgreat; immense
भयम्bhayamfear; an awe-inspiring might
वज्रम्vajramthe thunderbolt (vajra — the weapon of Indra); the mace of thunder; the vajra
उद्यतम्udyatamupraised (ud-√yam — 'to lift up'); lifted [to strike]; held aloft
येyethose who; they who
एतत्etatthis; it
विदुःviduḥthey know; they realise
अमृताःamṛtāḥimmortal; imperishable
तेtethey; such
भवन्तिbhavantibecome; are
Translation
Whatever moving thing there is in the world has issued [from Him] and trembles in [His] breath. A great fear, an upraised thunderbolt — those who know This become immortal.
Version
7d927647ab4a · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
yad idaṁ kiñca jagat sarvaṁ prāṇa ejati niḥsṛtam — "all this moving world, having issued [from Him], trembles in [His] breath": the universe does not rest in God as a thing upon a shelf — it trembles in Him as foliage in the wind: it lives by His current and is held by His tension.
mahad bhayaṁ vajram udyatam — "a great fear, an upraised vajra [thunderbolt]": an image not to be evaded: He is like a weapon raised but not brought down. This is no cruelty — it is the exact name of that power by which the world is held in order: the sun dares not grow cold, the ocean dares not overstep its shore, death dares not be late (the next verse will name them one by one). Sacred awe is not the dark terror of a creature before a tyrant but the trembling of everything conditional before the Unconditioned; the cosmos is obedient not out of habit but out of reverence.
ye etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti — "those who know This become immortal": an astonishing turn: immortality comes from the knowledge of the Terrible. He who has learned before Whom all things tremble ceases to tremble before anything else: one great Fear burns away all the small ones — the fear of death, of loss, of the future. So reverence proves to be the door of fearlessness: he who fears God fears nothing; he who does not fear Him fears everything.