Upaniṣads · Kaṭharudra p11
॥
Devanāgarī
अनिकेतश्चरेत् । भिक्षाशी यत्किञ्चिन्नाद्यात् । लवैकं न धावयेज्जन्तुसंरक्षणार्थं वर्षवर्जमिति । तदपि श्लोका भवन्ति
Transliteración (IAST)
aniketaścaret | bhikṣāśī yatkiñcinnādyāt | lavaikaṃ na dhāvayejjantusaṃrakṣaṇārthaṃ varṣavarjamiti | tadapi ślokā bhavanti
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
अ-निकेतः चरेत्a-niketaḥ caretlet him wander homeless
भिक्षा-आशी यत् किञ्चित् न अद्यात्bhikṣā-āśī yat kiñcit na adyātliving on alms, let him not eat just anything
लव-एकं न धावयेत्lava-ekaṃ na dhāvayetand not for a moment let him run
जन्तु-संरक्षण-अर्थंjantu-saṃrakṣaṇa-arthaṃfor the sake of protecting creatures
वर्ष-वर्जम् इतिvarṣa-varjam itiexcept in the rains
Traducción
Let him wander homeless; living on alms, let him not eat just anything; and not for a moment let him run — for the sake of protecting creatures — except in the rains. Of this too there are verses.
Versión
94d3c3b33329 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Rules for walking, and they are remarkable for their smallness, behind which stands a thought. Aniketaḥ caret, "let him wander homeless": niketa means "dwelling"; the renounced must not acquire a place, for a place grows things around it, and things grow cares. Lavaikaṃ na dhāvayet, "and not for a moment let him run," and the reason is given: jantu-saṃrakṣaṇa-artham, "for the sake of protecting creatures." One who runs does not watch his feet and crushes small life; one who walks a step sees where he treads.
This rule deserves praise, and not only for pity toward ants. In it is stated a thought applicable more broadly: one who hurries does not see. One who hurries inevitably crushes something — if not ants, then people; and the connection between haste and harm is precisely observed here.
A qualification is added: varṣa-varjam, "except in the rains." In the rains, one may run — probably because in a downpour small creatures are already sheltered, and a soaked wanderer will fall ill. This qualification shows the rule was not invented at a desk: the one who wrote it walked the roads himself.
The Vaiṣṇava side does not cancel such rules and adds her own grounding to them. Not crushing the living is not enjoined for the sake of merit, but because He is in everything living; and the Gītā speaks of the wise man who "sees the same in a dog and in a dog-eater" (5.18). This grounding is broader than pity and does not depend on whether a creature is large or small.