The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.23 Sons and horses
1.23
शतायुषः पुत्रपौत्रान् वृणीष्व बहून् पशून् हस्तिहिरण्यमश्वान् ।
भूमेर् महदायतनं वृणीष्व स्वयं च जीव शरदो यावदिच्छसि śatāyuṣaḥ putrapautrān vṛṇīṣva bahūn paśūn hastihiraṇyam aśvān |
bhūmer mahad āyatanaṃ vṛṇīṣva svayaṃ ca jīva śarado yāvad icchasi
The line
Choose sons and grandsons of a hundred years, many cattle, elephants, gold, horses. Choose a great expanse of earth. And live yourself as many autumns as you wish.
नेपालीमा
सय वर्षका छोरा र नाति, धेरै गाई, हात्ती, सुन र घोडा रोज। पृथ्वीको ठूलो फैलावट रोज, र आफैँ चाहे जति शरद बाँच।
Where it sits
These are the substitutes. The boy will call them things of tomorrow. He does not choose them.
Split: śata-āyuṣaḥ (शत-आयुषः) + putra-pautrān (पुत्र-पौत्रान्) + vṛṇīṣva (वृणीष्व) + bahūn (बहून्) + paśūn (पशून्) + hasti-hiraṇyam (हस्ति-हिरण्यम्) + aśvān (अश्वान्) + bhūmeḥ (भूमेः) + mahat (महत्) + āyatanam (आयतनम्) + svayam (स्वयम्) + ca (च) + jīva (जीव) + śaradaḥ (शरदः) + yāvat (यावत्) + icchasi (इच्छसि)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| śata-āyuṣaḥ (शत-आयुषः) | accusative plural, masculine | Living a hundred years. Heard śatāyuṣaḥ (शतायुषः). |
| putra-pautrān (पुत्र-पौत्रान्) | accusative plural, masculine | Sons and grandsons. |
| vṛṇīṣva (वृणीष्व) | imperative | Choose. Said twice in the mantra. |
| bahūn (बहून्) | accusative plural, masculine | Many. |
| paśūn (पशून्) | accusative plural, masculine | Cattle. |
| hasti-hiraṇyam (हस्ति-हिरण्यम्) | accusative singular, neuter | Elephants and gold. Heard hastihiraṇyam (हस्तिहिरण्यम्). |
| aśvān (अश्वान्) | accusative plural, masculine | Horses. |
| bhūmeḥ (भूमेः) | genitive, or ablative | Of the earth. Heard bhūmer (भूमेर्). |
| mahat (महत्) | accusative singular, neuter | A great. Heard mahad (महद्). |
| āyatanam (आयतनम्) | accusative singular, neuter | A span, an expanse. Heard āyatanaṃ (आयतनं). |
| svayam (स्वयम्) | indeclinable | Yourself. |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | And. |
| jīva (जीव) | imperative, second person singular | Live. |
| śaradaḥ (शरदः) | accusative plural, feminine | Autumns. |
| yāvat (यावत्) | indeclinable | As long as. As many as. |
| icchasi (इच्छसि) | present, second person singular | You wish. |
The phrases
A list of things to choose instead, closed by an imperative to live as long as he wishes.
Sanskrit in this line
Śata (शत) plus āyuṣaḥ (आयुषः) is śatāyuṣaḥ (शतायुषः). Mahat (महत्) before āyatanam (आयतनम्) is mahad āyatanam (महदायतनम्).
Say it back
Name three things on the list he is told to choose instead.