उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 1.5
॥
देवनागरी
बहूनाम् एमि प्रथमो बहूनाम् एमि मध्यमः ।
किं स्विद् यमस्य कर्तव्यं यन् मयाद्य करिष्यति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
bahūnām emi prathamo bahūnām emi madhyamaḥ /
kiṃ svid yamasya kartavyaṃ yan mayādya kariṣyati
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
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
अनुवाद
"Among many I go first, among many I go as a middling one. What business has Yama that he will accomplish through me today?"
संस्करण
4830cd4c90e3 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
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.