The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.18 The snares
1.18
त्रिणाचिकेतस् त्रयमेतद् विदित्वा य एवं विद्वांश् चिनुते नाचिकेतम् ।
स मृत्युपाशान् पुरतः प्रणोद्य शोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके triṇāciketas trayam etad viditvā ya evaṃ vidvāṃś cinute nāciketam |
sa mṛtyupāśān purataḥ praṇodya śokātigo modate svargaloke
The line
Who, knowing this triad, piles the Nāciketa (नाचिकेत) fire thus, having pushed the snares of death away in front, goes beyond sorrow and rejoices in the heavenly world.
नेपालीमा
यो तीनलाई जानेर यसरी नाचिकेत अग्नि चुन्नेले मृत्युका पासो अगाडि धकेलेर शोक नाघ्छ र स्वर्गलोकमा रमाउँछ।
Where it sits
The second boon is complete enough that the next mantra will close it and ask for the third.
Split: tri-nāciketaḥ (त्रि-नाचिकेतः) + trayam (त्रयम्) + etat (एतत्) + viditvā (विदित्वा) + yaḥ (यः) + evam (एवम्) + vidvān (विद्वान्) + cinute (चिनुते) + nāciketam (नाचिकेतम्) + saḥ (सः) + mṛtyu-pāśān (मृत्यु-पाशान्) + purataḥ (पुरतः) + praṇodya (प्रणोद्य) + śoka-atigaḥ (शोक-अतिगः) + modate (मोदते) + svarga-loke (स्वर्ग-लोके)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| tri-nāciketaḥ (त्रि-नाचिकेतः) | nominative singular, masculine | The triple Nāciketa (नाचिकेत) man. Heard triṇāciketas (त्रिणाचिकेत). |
| trayam (त्रयम्) | accusative singular, neuter | The triad. Heard trayam (त्रयम्). |
| etat (एतत्) | accusative singular, neuter | This. |
| viditvā (विदित्वा) | gerund | Having known. |
| yaḥ (यः) | nominative singular, masculine | Who. Heard ya (य). |
| evam (एवम्) | indeclinable | Thus. Heard evaṃ (एवं). |
| vidvān (विद्वान्) | nominative singular, masculine | Knowing. Heard vidvāṃś (विद्वांश्) before cinute (चिनुते). |
| cinute (चिनुते) | present, third person singular, ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) | He piles. The ritual stacking of the fire. |
| nāciketam (नाचिकेतम्) | accusative singular, masculine | The Nāciketa (नाचिकेत) fire. |
| saḥ (सः) | nominative singular, masculine | He. Heard sa (स). |
| mṛtyu-pāśān (मृत्यु-पाशान्) | accusative plural, masculine | The snares of death. |
| purataḥ (पुरतः) | indeclinable | In front. Beforehand. |
| praṇodya (प्रणोद्य) | gerund | Having pushed away. |
| śoka-atigaḥ (शोक-अतिगः) | nominative singular, masculine | Gone beyond sorrow. Heard śokātigo (शोकातिगो). |
| modate (मोदते) | present, third person singular | He rejoices. |
| svarga-loke (स्वर्ग-लोके) | locative singular | In the heavenly world. |
The phrases
Knowing the triad and piling the fire, he pushes death's snares off and rejoices. The heaven of 1.12 is the place.
Sanskrit in this line
Vidvān (विद्वान्) plus cinute (चिनुते) is vidvāṃś cinute (विद्वांश् चिनुते). Before c (च्), the anusvāra (अनुस्वार) of the participle is heard as ś (श्).
Say it back
Say what he pushes away, and where he rejoices.