Upaniṣads · Kaṭha 1.3
॥
Devanāgarī
पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः ।
अनन्दा नाम ते लोकास् तान् स गच्छति ता ददत्
Transliteración (IAST)
pītodakā jagdhatṛṇā dugdhadohā nirindriyāḥ /
anandā nāma te lokās tān sa gacchati tā dadat
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
पीतोदकाःpītodakāḥwhose water is drunk (pīta-udaka); whose water has been drunk already; having drunk [for the last time]
जग्धतृणाःjagdhatṛṇāḥwhose grass is eaten (jagdha-tṛṇa); whose grass has been eaten already; having eaten their share
दुग्धदोहाःdugdhadohāḥmilked dry (dugdha-doha); whose milk has been given up; yielding milk no more
निरिन्द्रियाःnirindriyāḥbarren; grown strengthless (nir-indriya — 'without power'); worn out
अनन्दाःanandāḥjoyless (an-ānanda); devoid of joy; dismal
नामnāmaby name; so called
तेtethose; such
लोकाःlokāḥworlds; the states
तान्tāninto them; those worlds
सःsaḥhe; the sacrificer
गच्छतिgacchatigoes; attains
ताःtāḥsuch [cows]; these cows
ददत्dadatgiving; in giving
Traducción
"These cows have drunk their water, eaten their grass, given their milk, and are barren now. 'Joyless' are those worlds called — thither goes he who gives them."
Versión
113c614fa2d2 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 21:13:03 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
This is what the awakened faith saw: his father is giving away cows from which there is nothing left to take. Four participles fall like blows: pītodakāḥ — "having drunk their water [to the last]", jagdhatṛṇāḥ — "having eaten their grass", dugdhadohāḥ — "milked dry", nirindriyāḥ — "barren". It is a gift in which there is no gift: the form of generosity with a total absence of giving.
anandā nāma te lokāḥ — "'joyless' is the name of those worlds": the sentence is exact by the law of correspondence. He who offers the lifeless comes to the lifeless; joy is not born of calculation. Sacrifice is no bookkeeping entry where the number of head is credited; it is accepted according to the heart, and a heart that wished to keep everything of value for itself receives worlds where there is nothing of value.
Here the Upaniṣad states for the first time what will be its running theme: the Highest cannot be deceived by a fulfilment of the letter. The Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) names the real price of an offering: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam… bhaktyā — a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water: the Lord accepts them if they are brought with love. The worth of a gift is not in the object but in the heart's surrender; Vājaśravas's old cows are the perennial image of a religion out of which love has gone.