उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 2.20
॥
देवनागरी
अणोर् अणीयान् महतो महीयान् आत्मास्य जन्तोर् निहितो गुहायाम् ।
तम् अक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको धातुप्रसादान् महिमानम् आत्मनः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān ātmāsya jantor nihito guhāyām /
tam akratuḥ paśyati vītaśoko dhātuprasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
अणोःaṇoḥthan the small; than an atom
अणीयान्aṇīyānsmaller (comparative of aṇu — 'minute'); finer; more minute
महतःmahataḥthan the great; than the large
महीयान्mahīyāngreater (comparative of mahat — 'great'); more majestic; vaster
आत्माātmāthe Ātman; the spiritual essence
अस्यasyaof this; of this
जन्तोःjantoḥof a living being; of one born
निहितःnihitaḥis placed; is hidden
गुहायाम्guhāyāmin the cave; into the heart
तम्tamit; this Ātman
अक्रतुःakratuḥfree from [self-willed] desire (a-kratu — 'without [selfish] will'); not drawn by designs; without cravings
पश्यतिpaśyatisees; beholds
वीतशोकःvītaśokaḥfreed from sorrow (vīta-śoka); who has left grief behind; sorrowless
धातुप्रसादात्dhātuprasādātby the grace of the Creator (dhātuḥ prasādāt); or: through the calming of one's nature; by the favour of the Ordainer; by the grace of the Upholder
महिमानम्mahimānamgreatness (mahiman); the greatness; the glory
आत्मनःātmanaḥthe Ātman; of one's own spiritual essence
अनुवाद
Smaller than the small and greater than the great, the Ātman lies hidden in the secret place [of the heart] of a living being. Free from desire and grief, a man sees the greatness of the Ātman — by the grace of the Creator.
संस्करण
84b68494e6e5 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān — "smaller than an atom and greater than the greatest": the soul's measure is not to be found on the world's ruler — it stands outside the series of magnitudes; a mote of consciousness hidden in the heart encompasses universes. nihito guhāyām — again the guhā, the secret place of the heart: the third return of the running image (the fire — the question — the Ātman: all three in one depth).
The conditions of the vision are named with the utmost brevity: akratuḥ — "the non-desiring", he in whom the will-to-acquire (kratu) has subsided; vīta-śokaḥ — "free of grief". And the source of the vision: dhātu-prasādāt — words with two readings, and tradition keeps both. The first: "through the calming of the elements [of mind and senses]" — a mirror wiped clear reflects. The second, which personal Vedānta hears as the chief one: dhātuḥ prasādāt — "by the grace of the Ordainer" (dhātṛ — Creator, Upholder): the greatness of the Ātman is seen not by those who have achieved but by those who have been given.
The two readings are not rivals but two sides of one door: man polishes the mirror, grace sends the light. Below (verse 52) the Upaniṣad will state the second side without any ambiguity: "whom He chooses, by him is He attained." Already here it is clear where the Kaṭha inclines: the last step toward the Ātman is taken not by the ascetic but toward the ascetic.