The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.1 The gift
1.1
उशन् ह वै वाजश्रवसः सर्ववेदसं ददौ ।
तस्य ह नचिकेता नाम पुत्र आस uśan ha vai vājaśravasaḥ sarvavedasaṃ dadau |
tasya ha naciketā nāma putra āsa
The line
Desiring, Vājaśravasa (वाजश्रवस) gave away all he owned. He had a son named Naciketas (नचिकेत).
नेपालीमा
इच्छा गर्दै वाजश्रवसले आफ्नो सबै दान गरे। तिनको नचिकेत नामको छोरा थियो।
Where it sits
The book opens on a gift. Nothing is carried in from another mantra. The next line is what entered the boy while the gifts were being led away.
Split: uśan (उशन्) + ha vai (ह वै) + vājaśravasaḥ (वाजश्रवसः) + sarva-vedasam (सर्व-वेदसम्) + dadau (ददौ) + tasya (तस्य) + ha (ह) + naciketā (नचिकेता) + nāma (नाम) + putraḥ (पुत्रः) + āsa (आस)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| uśan (उशन्) | nominative singular, masculine | Desiring. A participle of vaś (वश्), agreeing with the father. |
| ha vai (ह वै) | indeclinable | The two particles that open a tale. |
| vājaśravasaḥ (वाजश्रवसः) | nominative singular, masculine | The son of Vājaśravas (वाजश्रव). The father. |
| sarva-vedasam (सर्व-वेदसम्) | accusative singular, neuter | All his possession. vedas (वेद), property. Heard sarvavedasaṃ (सर्ववेदसं). |
| dadau (ददौ) | perfect, third person singular | He gave. From dā (दा). |
| tasya (तस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | Of him. |
| ha (ह) | indeclinable | The tale's particle, again. |
| naciketā (नचिकेता) | nominative singular, masculine | Naciketas (नचिकेत). The boy's name. Nominative naciketās (नचिकेतास्), heard naciketā (नचिकेता) before nāma (नाम). |
| nāma (नाम) | indeclinable | By name. |
| putraḥ (पुत्रः) | nominative singular, masculine | A son. Heard putra (पुत्र) before āsa (आस), the visarga dropped. |
| āsa (आस) | perfect, third person singular | There was. From as (अस्). |
The phrases
A father, desiring, gives away everything. The sentence then names the son.
Sanskrit in this line
Ha vai (ह वै) are narrative particles. They do not decline.
Say it back
Name the father and the son.