Upaniṣads · Kaṭharudra 31
॥
Devanāgarī
निमित्तं किञ्चिदाश्रित्य खलु शब्दः प्रवर्तते । यतो वाचो निवर्तन्ते निमित्तानामभवतः
Transliteración (IAST)
nimittaṃ kiñcidāśritya khalu śabdaḥ pravartate | yato vāco nivartante nimittānāmabhavataḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
निमित्तं किञ्चित् आश्रित्यnimittaṃ kiñcit āśrityahaving taken recourse to some cause
खलु शब्दः प्रवर्ततेkhalu śabdaḥ pravartateindeed, a word begins to act
यतः वाचः निवर्तन्तेyataḥ vācaḥ nivartante"whence speech turns back"
निमित्तानाम् अ-भवतःnimittānām a-bhavataḥfor lack of causes
Traducción
A word indeed begins to act only having taken recourse to some cause; "whence speech turns back" — for lack of causes.
Versión
f297f644b645 · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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The famous saying of the Taittirīya (2.4) is cited: yato vāco nivartante, "whence speech turns back," not having reached [it], together with the mind. And a linguistic and precise explanation is given: a word acts only by resting on nimitta, "a cause, a ground." These grounds are listed in grammar: a word names a thing by its kind, by a quality, by an action, or by a connection. "Cow" — by kind, "white" — by quality, "cook" — by action, "royal" — by connection.
From this follows the conclusion: where there is neither kind, nor quality, nor action, nor connection, there is nothing for a word to catch hold of, and speech turns back. This conclusion is correct, and the Vaiṣṇava side accepts it; but it is worth noting what it does not prove. It does not prove that the object does not exist: it proves only that the object does not fit our ways of naming. Of the four grounds, at least one — kriyā, "action" — is applicable to Him: He creates, preserves, gathers in, bestows, hears, commands; and all these words stand in these very books, this one included.
Hence Vaiṣṇava theology has always preferred names from action: Hari, "the taker-away"; Keśava, "slayer of Keśin"; Dāmodara, "with the cord about his belly." Speech turns back from one who has no properties; from one who has done something, it does not turn back, for what has been done can be told.