奥义书 · Kaṭha 2.1
॥
天城文
अन्यच् छ्रेयो ऽन्यद् उतैव प्रेयस् ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषं सिनीतः ।
तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु भवति हीयते ऽर्थाद् य उ प्रेयो वृणीते
转写 (IAST)
anyac chreyo 'nyad utaiva preyas te ubhe nānārthe puruṣaṃ sinītaḥ /
tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu bhavati hīyate 'rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte
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अन्यत्anyatone; other
श्रेयःśreyaḥthe good (śreyas — 'the better', from śrī); the highest good; what saves
अन्यत्anyatanother; other
उतutaand; also
एवevaindeed; truly
प्रेयःpreyaḥthe pleasant (preyas — 'the dearer', from priya); what gratifies; what the heart holds dear
तेtethese two; they
उभेubheboth; two possibilities
नानार्थेnānārthewith different aims; leading to different ends
पुरुषम्puruṣamthe man; the person
सिनीतःsinītaḥthey bind (dual of √si — 'to tie'); they entangle; they lay claim to
तयोःtayoḥof these two; between them
श्रेयःśreyaḥthe good (śreyas — 'the better', from śrī); the highest good; what saves
आददानस्यādadānasyafor him who takes (ā-√dā — 'to receive'); for him who chooses; for the one who accepts
साधुsādhuwell; rightly
भवतिbhavatibecomes; is
हीयतेhīyatefalls away (from √hā — 'to lag, to lose'); is deprived; misses
अर्थात्arthātof the goal; of the true purpose
यःyaḥwho; the one who
उusurely; indeed
प्रेयःpreyaḥthe pleasant (preyas — 'the dearer', from priya); what gratifies; what the heart holds dear
वृणीतेvṛṇītechooses; prefers
译文
"One thing is the good, and quite another the pleasant. Both, with different aims, lay claim to a man. Well is it for him who of the two takes the good; but he who chooses the pleasant falls away from the goal."
版本
f715bdd14225 · 发布于 2026年7月26日 21:13:03 UTC
可用语言RUEN用方向键翻颂
The testing is passed — and the very first words of the teaching mint the distinction on which the whole spiritual life stands: anyac chreyo 'nyad utaiva preyaḥ — "one is the good, another the pleasant". śreyas (a comparative of śrī: "the better", the real good) and preyas (from priya: "the dearer", the pleasant) are not good and evil: the pleasant is not always sinful, the good not always bitter. They differ in their aims: nānārthe — "they have different artha", different final harbours.
te ubhe… puruṣaṁ sinītaḥ — "both bind a man", literally "entangle" him (from √si — "to tie"): both the good and the pleasant come as claimants, each with its own rope. A man does not choose whether to choose — he is always already in the situation of choosing; the freedom lies only in which rope he gives himself to: the one that pulls upward or the one that coils about his feet.
hīyate 'rthād ya u preyo vṛṇīte — "he who chooses the pleasant falls away from the goal" — not "is punished" but precisely misses (√hā — "to lag, to lose"): a life composed of pleasant moments passes, in sum, beside its meaning. The whole scene of temptation (vallī 1) was this verse acted out: sons, riches, maidens with chariots — preyas; the question of the eternal — śreyas. Naciketas chose while not yet knowing the formula; now the teacher gives the formula — as always in a real teaching, the theory comes to one who has already acted by the truth.