Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 25
॥
Devanāgarī
तस्मात्सर्वात्मना चित्ते भासमानो ह्यसौ नरः । आनन्दयति दुःखाढ्यं जीवात्मानं सदा जनः
Transliteration (IAST)
tasmātsarvātmanā citte bhāsamāno hyasau naraḥ | ānandayati duḥkhāḍhyaṃ jīvātmānaṃ sadā janaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तस्मात् सर्व-आत्मना चित्तेtasmāt sarva-ātmanā cittetherefore that man, appearing entirely
भासमानः हि असौ नरःbhāsamānaḥ hi asau naraḥin consciousness, indeed
आनन्दयति दुःख-आढ्यंānandayati duḥkha-āḍhyaṃdelights the one laden with sorrow
जीव-आत्मानं सदा जनःjīva-ātmānaṃ sadā janaḥthe living self, always, the person
Translation
Therefore that man, indeed appearing entirely in consciousness, always delights the living self, laden with sorrow, of the person.
Version
2e32ce22535b · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
This verse deserves examination, for two persons are named separately in it, and moreover in one line. The first: asau naraḥ, "that Man" — He, appearing in consciousness. The second: jīvātmānaṃ duḥkha-āḍhyaṃ, "the living self, laden with sorrow."
And it is said what the first does to the second: ānandayati, "delights, gladdens." The verb is transitive: one delights the other. This line destroys every reading in which the two are one and the same. One can delight oneself only in words; and "laden with sorrow" and "the one delighting" cannot be one person at the same moment — otherwise it would follow that the sorrowing one both comforts himself and receives comfort from nowhere.
It is worth noting the word nara, "man, person." It is from the same root as Nārāyaṇa, "dwelling on the waters" or "the refuge of people"; and in Manu this name is explained thus: the waters are nāraḥ, the offspring of Nara, and the One who rests upon them is called Nārāyaṇa. Let us add that the verb ānandayati is the causative form of ānand, "to rejoice": literally "causes to rejoice." Joy, accordingly, is not born of itself in the sorrowing one; it is called forth. And this is, in essence, the same as what is said of grace: not earned, but given.