उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 1.24
॥
देवनागरी
एतत् तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं वृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।
महाभूमौ नचिकेतस् त्वम् एधि कामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
etat tulyaṃ yadi manyase varaṃ vṛṇīṣva vittaṃ cirajīvikāṃ ca /
mahābhūmau naciketas tvam edhi kāmānāṃ tvā kāmabhājaṃ karomi
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
एतत्etatto this; to this boon
तुल्यम्tulyamequal; comparable to it
यदिyadiif; should
मन्यसेmanyaseyou deem; you suppose
वरम्varamby the boon; as your boon
वृणीष्वvṛṇīṣvachoose; ask
वित्तम्vittamwealth; property
चिरजीविकाम्cirajīvikāmlong life (cira-jīvikā); longevity; a lengthy span
चcaand; as well as
महाभूमौmahābhūmauover the great earth; in a vast kingdom
नचिकेतःnaciketaḥO Naciketas; Naciketas
त्वम्tvamyou; you yourself
एधिedhibe (imperative of √as — 'to be'); become; remain
कामानाम्kāmānāmdesires; of pleasures
त्वाtvāyou; to you
कामभाजम्kāmabhājama partaker of desires (kāma-bhāj); an enjoyer of pleasures; a possessor of what is desired
करोमिkaromiI shall make; I shall create
अनुवाद
"If you deem this equal [to that boon] — choose wealth and long life. Be great over the wide earth, O Naciketas: I shall make you an enjoyer of [all] desires."
संस्करण
6df3e95dac09 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The stakes are doubled. etat tulyaṁ yadi manyase — "if you deem this equal": Yama takes up Naciketas's own word (tulya — "equal", verse 22) and asks again: is it certain that nothing is equal? mahābhūmau naciketas tvam edhi — "be great over the great earth"; and the summit of the offer: kāmānāṁ tvā kāmabhājaṁ karomi — "I shall make you a partaker of desires" — not fulfil a list, but grant the very capacity to desire and receive without refusal.
This is no longer a bargain over things but an attempt upon the constitution of the soul: what is offered is the status of an enjoyer, a little god of desires. In the Vedic picture of the world this is matter's ultimate lure: not pleasure but the position of an owner of pleasures. By exactly this, an attentive reader will note, the heart of the living being was tempted at its entry into saṁsāra: not by an apple but by a throne.
The word kāma-bhāj is built on the same root √bhaj as bhakti: "partaking". The question for every soul is not whether it will partake but of what: of desires, or of the Desired (the Tadvana of the Kena Upaniṣad). Naciketas is about to choose his partaking, and his choice will become the axis of the whole Upaniṣad: the next chapter will open with the words about the two paths — śreyas and preyas.