Upaniṣads · Kaṭha 1.5
॥
Devanāgarī
बहूनाम् एमि प्रथमो बहूनाम् एमि मध्यमः ।
किं स्विद् यमस्य कर्तव्यं यन् मयाद्य करिष्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
bahūnām emi prathamo bahūnām emi madhyamaḥ /
kiṃ svid yamasya kartavyaṃ yan mayādya kariṣyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
बहूनाम्bahūnāmamong many; out of many
एमिemiI go, I come to be (from √i — 'to go'); I pass; I find myself
प्रथमःprathamaḥfirst; better
बहूनाम्bahūnāmamong many; out of many
एमिemiI go, I come to be (from √i — 'to go'); I pass; I find myself
मध्यमःmadhyamaḥas a middling one; not as the last
किम् स्विद्kim svidwhat then; what then
यमस्यyamasyaof Yama; of Death
कर्तव्यम्kartavyamthe thing that must be done (gerundive of √kṛ); the purpose; the need
यत्yatwhat; that which
मयाmayāby me; with me
अद्यadyatoday; then
करिष्यतिkariṣyatihe will do; he will accomplish
Traducción
"Among many I go first, among many I go as a middling one. What business has Yama that he will accomplish through me today?"
Versión
4830cd4c90e3 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 21:13:03 UTC
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The first thing Naciketas does with his father's terrible word is not to dispute it but to look for its meaning. bahūnām emi prathamaḥ… madhyamaḥ — "among many I am first, among many a middling one": a sober self-appraisal without self-abasement; as a son and a student I am not among the worst — why then to Death? But his question is not "for what fault" but "to what end": kiṁ svid yamasya kartavyam — "what business of Yama's will be accomplished through me today?"
In this turn is all the future ripeness of the hero. He believes that what has happened has a purpose: if the word has been spoken, it must serve something, and my task is to find what. Such an attitude turns a blow of fate into a commission; the victim of circumstances becomes an envoy.
A second trait is notable too: Naciketas thinks of himself as the instrument of another's design — "what he will accomplish through me" (mayā, instrumental). Not "what will become of me" but "what shall I serve". The consciousness of a servant, seeking the Lord's will in everything, is the very disposition of heart that will make him able to receive a teaching inaccessible even to the gods.