Upaniṣads · Kaṭha 1.15
॥
Devanāgarī
लोकादिम् अग्निं तम् उवाच तस्मै या इष्टका यावतीर् वा यथा वा ।
स चापि तत् प्रत्यवदद् यथोक्तम् अथास्य मृत्युः पुनर् आह तुष्टः
Transliteración (IAST)
lokādim agniṃ tam uvāca tasmai yā iṣṭakā yāvatīr vā yathā vā /
sa cāpi tat pratyavadad yathoktam athāsya mṛtyuḥ punar āha tuṣṭaḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
लोकादिम्lokādimthe beginning of the worlds (loka-ādi); the first source of the worlds; world-founding
अग्निम्agnimfire; the sacrificial fire
तम्tamit; that one
उवाचuvācahe said; explained
तस्मैtasmaito him; for him
याःyāḥwhich; those who
इष्टकाःiṣṭakāḥthe bricks [of the altar]; the sacrificial bricks; the stones of the courses
यावतीःyāvatīḥhow many; of what number
वाvāor; surely
यथाyathāhow; in what manner
वाvāor; surely
सःsaḥhe; Naciketas
चcaand; also
अपिapisurely; and
तत्tatthis; that
प्रत्यवदत्pratyavadathe repeated back (prati-√vad); he recited; he said it over again
यथोक्तम्yathoktamas it had been said; according to the instruction
अथathathen; thereupon
अस्यasyato him; it
मृत्युःmṛtyuḥDeath; Yama
पुनःpunaḥagain; besides
आहāhahe said; He spoke
तुष्टःtuṣṭaḥpleased (from √tuṣ — 'to be satisfied'); satisfied; gladdened
Traducción
And Yama declared to him that fire, the beginning of the worlds: what bricks [for the altar], how many, and how [to lay them]. And he repeated it all just as it had been said. Pleased, Death spoke again.
Versión
d35f8b9a1a62 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 21:13:03 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
lokādim agnim — "the fire, the beginning of the worlds": the sacrificial fire is here no implement of ritual but a cosmic first principle — that heat (tapas) by which every creation is kindled. The instruction is concrete down to the craft: yā iṣṭakā yāvatīr vā yathā vā — "what bricks, how many and how": sacred knowledge in the Vedas never disdains exactness; the mysticism and the technique of the altar are one skill.
sa cāpi tat pratyavadad yathoktam — "and he repeated it all just as it had been said". Here is the examination of the ancient school of the ear: what has been heard is returned to the teacher without distortion. The ability to receive exactly is the rarest and the first capacity of a pupil: in it are attention, reverence for the word, and the humility not to mix in one's own before the time. The chain of succession (of which the Īśa and the Kena say śuśruma — "we have heard") holds precisely by this link: by hearers who do not let fall what they have received.
atha… mṛtyuḥ punar āha tuṣṭaḥ — "pleased, Death spoke again". tuṣṭaḥ — satisfied: the joy of a teacher who has found a vessel without a crack. Out of that joy will now be born an unrequested fourth boon — as happens with real teachers: a pupil's exactness is rewarded beyond the bargain.