उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 1.13
॥
देवनागरी
स त्वम् अग्निं स्वर्ग्यम् अध्येषि मृत्यो प्रब्रूहि तं श्रद्दधानाय मह्यम् ।
स्वर्गलोका अमृतत्वं भजन्त एतद् द्वितीयेन वृणे वरेण
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sa tvam agniṃ svargyam adhyeṣi mṛtyo prabrūhi taṃ śraddadhānāya mahyam /
svargalokā amṛtatvaṃ bhajanta etad dvitīyena vṛṇe vareṇa
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सःsaḥthat one; you
त्वम्tvamyou; you yourself
अग्निम्agnimfire; the sacrificial fire
स्वर्ग्यम्svargyamleading to heaven; heavenly
अध्येषिadhyeṣiyou know; you have learned
मृत्योmṛtyoO Death; O Yama
प्रब्रूहिprabrūhiexplain; expound
तम्tamit; that fire
श्रद्दधानायśraddadhānāyato one full of faith (participle of śrad-√dhā); to the believing; to one who has trusted
मह्यम्mahyammyself; for me
स्वर्गलोकाःsvargalokāḥthose who have reached the heavenly world; the dwellers of svarga
अमृतत्वम्amṛtatvamimmortality; imperishability
भजन्तेbhajantethey partake (from √bhaj — 'to share'); they enjoy; they share in
एतत्etatthis; such
द्वितीयेनdvitīyenaby the second; with the second
वृणेvṛṇeI choose; I ask
वरेणvareṇaby the boon; as a boon
अनुवाद
"You, O Death, know that fire which leads to heaven. Declare it to me, who am full of faith: the dwellers of the heavenly world partake of immortality. This I choose as the second boon."
संस्करण
d328d6ba0d8f · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The second boon is the knowledge of the heavenly fire: svargyam agnim — the sacrificial fire-building that raises one to heaven. Naciketas asks for it not for enjoyment but as a step: he has already said (verse 12) what makes svarga dear to him — freedom from fear and grief. And he asks as one ought: śraddadhānāya mahyam — "to me, who am full of faith": with the same word that described his awakening (verse 2). Faith is the only claim he presents, and it suffices.
svargalokā amṛtatvaṁ bhajante — "the dwellers of heaven partake of immortality": the verb √bhaj — "to share, to partake" — is exact: in heaven immortality is not a nature but a participation, tasted as a long yet exhaustible fruit. Already here the Upaniṣad subtly prepares a distinction: there is a relative immortality — the longevity of the gods — and there is the unconditional one, of which the third question will speak.
It is telling too that Yama will later (verse 2.10) call this fire a path to the "imperishable": rite performed with knowledge and faith is not the rival of the highest knowledge but its vestibule. Nowhere does the Kaṭha despise ritual — it puts ritual in its place: a bridge, not the shore.