Upaniṣads · Kaṭha 1.9
॥
Devanāgarī
तिस्रो रात्रीर् यद् अवत्सीर् गृहे मे अनश्नन् ब्रह्मन्न् अतिथिर् नमस्यः ।
नमस् ते ऽस्तु ब्रह्मन् स्वस्ति मे ऽस्तु तस्मात् प्रति त्रीन् वरान् वृणीष्व
Transliteración (IAST)
tisro rātrīr yad avatsīr gṛhe me anaśnan brahmann atithir namasyaḥ /
namas te 'stu brahman svasti me 'stu tasmāt prati trīn varān vṛṇīṣva
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तिस्रःtisraḥthree; a trio of
रात्रीःrātrīḥnights; nights' time
यत्yatsince; inasmuch as
अवत्सीःavatsīḥyou have dwelt (aorist of √vas — 'to dwell'); you have spent; you have waited out
गृहेgṛhein the house; in the dwelling
मेmemy; in my house
अनश्नन्anaśnannot having eaten; fasting
ब्रह्मन्brahmanO brāhmaṇa; O venerable one
अतिथिःatithiḥa guest; the guest who has come
नमस्यःnamasyaḥworthy of homage; to be honoured; deserving reverence
नमःnamaḥobeisance; homage
तेteto you; before you
अस्तुastuvery well; may he be
ब्रह्मन्brahmanO brāhmaṇa; O venerable one
स्वस्तिsvastiweal; well-being; welfare
मेmemyself; for me
अस्तुastuvery well; may he be
तस्मात्tasmāttherefore; for that reason
प्रतिpratiin return; in return
त्रीन्trīnthree; a trio of
वरान्varānof a boon (vara — 'what is chosen', from √vṛ — 'to choose'); boons of your choosing; favours
वृणीष्वvṛṇīṣvachoose; ask
Traducción
"Three nights you have dwelt in my house unfed, O brāhmaṇa, a guest worthy of homage. Homage be to you, brāhmaṇa! May it be well with me! Therefore choose three boons for yourself."
Versión
fcbf3b72e1e8 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 21:13:03 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Yama has returned — and his first act is to bow before the child who has fasted: namas te 'stu brahman — "homage be to you, O brāhmaṇa". The lord of death, before whom the worlds tremble, offers an apology to a boy — svasti me 'stu, "may it be well with me" — knowing that a broken law of hospitality threatens him too. Nothing attests true greatness so well as the ability to acknowledge one's debt to a lesser.
tasmāt prati trīn varān vṛṇīṣva — "therefore choose three boons": one boon for each hungry night. vara comes from the root √vṛ, "to choose": a gift chosen by the one who receives it. So the chief knot of the Upaniṣad is tied: a mortal boy receives from Death three wholly unrestricted wishes — and everything that follows will be a test of what a heart in which faith lives will wish for.
The arrangement of persons is profound: it is not the seeker who begged an audience of Death — it is Death who has fallen into debt to the seeker. He who endures privation for the sake of truth without fawning and without murmuring (Naciketas uttered not one word of complaint at the threshold) finds doors opened to him that no force could open.