उपनिषद् · Kaṭha 4.14
॥
देवनागरी
यथोदकं दुर्गे वृष्टं पर्वतेषु विधावति ।
एवं धर्मान् पृथक् पश्यंस् तान् एवानु विधावति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
yathodakaṃ durge vṛṣṭaṃ parvateṣu vidhāvati /
evaṃ dharmān pṛthak paśyaṃs tān evānu vidhāvati
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
यथाyathāhow; like
उदकम्udakamwater; a stream of water
दुर्गेdurgeon the steeps (durga — 'hard to traverse'); on the rocky ground; in the ravines
वृष्टम्vṛṣṭampoured down [as rain] (from √vṛṣ — 'to rain'); fallen; shed
पर्वतेषुparvateṣuover the mountains; upon the hills
विधावतिvidhāvatiruns apart (vi-√dhāv — 'to flow abroad'); spreads out; runs asunder
एवम्evamthus; in this way
धर्मान्dharmānthe phenomena (dharma — here: separate properties and objects); separate entities; the things of experience
पृथक्pṛthakas separate; severally; each separately
पश्यन्paśyanseeing; beholding
तान्tānof them; after them
एवevaindeed; only
अनुanuin succession; past
विधावतिvidhāvatiruns apart (vi-√dhāv — 'to flow abroad'); spreads out; runs asunder
अनुवाद
As water poured down upon the steeps in the mountains runs apart over the slopes, so runs after separate phenomena he who sees them as separate.
संस्करण
a15410ed0ca2 · प्रकाशित 26 जुल॰ 2026, 9:13:03 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
yathodakaṁ durge vṛṣṭaṁ parvateṣu vidhāvati — "as water fallen as rain upon the mountain steeps runs apart [over the slopes]": one rain — a thousand rivulets, splitting, growing shallow, losing themselves among the stones. evaṁ dharmān pṛthak paśyaṁs tān evānuvidhāvati — "so he who sees phenomena as separate runs after them" — with the same verb: vidhāvati — "runs asunder": consciousness takes the form of its seeing; he who sees the world as a scatter is himself scattered in the chase.
The diagnosis is exact to the point of pain: a life exchanged for the various — after a piece of news, a thing, an impression — every rivulet carries off a part of the soul, and by the end of the day (and of the life) a man has run out entirely: deep nowhere, arrived at nothing, evaporated on the way, like mountain streams that never reached the sea.
Note: dharmān here means "phenomena, properties, separate objects of experience"; the trouble is not in them (the rain is not to blame) but in the relief of the seeing: the crags of separateness break up the whole water. The next verse will give the opposite relief — and the opposite destiny of the water.