Upanishads · Kaṭha 6.15
॥
Devanāgarī
यदा सर्वे प्रभिद्यन्ते हृदयस्येह ग्रन्थयः ।
अथ मर्त्यो ऽमृतो भवत्य् एतावद् ध्य् अनुशासनम्
Transliteration (IAST)
yadā sarve prabhidyante hṛdayasyeha granthayaḥ /
atha martyo 'mṛto bhavaty etāvad dhy anuśāsanam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदाyadāwhen; at the moment when
सर्वेsarveall; entirely
प्रभिद्यन्तेprabhidyanteare cut asunder (pra-√bhid — 'to cleave'); are hewn apart; burst
हृदयस्यhṛdayasyaof the heart; of the heart
इहihahere; in this life
ग्रन्थयःgranthayaḥthe knots (granthi); the tangles; the tight bindings
अथathathen; after this
मर्त्यःmartyaḥa mortal; man
अमृतःamṛtaḥimmortal; imperishable
भवतिbhavatibecomes; is
एतावत्etāvatthis is all (etāvat — 'so much'); such is [the whole]; with this it is complete
हिhiindeed; indeed
अनुशासनम्anuśāsanamthe instruction (anu-śāsana); the teaching; the charge
Translation
When all the knots of the heart are cut asunder here — then the mortal becomes immortal. This is the whole instruction.
Version
402d6882f9ec · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
yadā sarve prabhidyante hṛdayasya granthayaḥ — "when all the knots of the heart are cut asunder": granthi is a knot: a tight interlacing where consciousness is tied fast to the non-conscious: "I am the body", "mine are the things", "I am the doer". Knots are not unwound by leisurely analysis — prabhidyante: they are cut through, they burst like bonds under a knife: knowledge that has come in fullness cuts at a stroke.
atha martyo 'mṛto bhavati — "then the mortal is immortal": an exact repetition of the preceding verse: the desires (115) and the knots (116) are one fabric: a desire is a thread, a knot its tightening; there the threads let go, here the knots are severed — two images say one event of liberation.
etāvad dhy anuśāsanam — "this is the whole instruction". Three words with which Yama sets a limit to the whole conversation: there is nothing more to teach. All that follows — verses 117–118 — is no longer instruction but a parting word: the technique of departure and a last image. In this brevity is the seal of real teaching: the truth is simple; only the approaches to it are long. What Naciketas asked in the third boon has been answered in full — and the answer has fitted into: know the Eternal in the heart, let the desires fall away, cut the knots — and there is no death.