The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.26 Things of tomorrow
1.26
श्वोभावा मर्त्यस्य यदन्तकैतत् सर्वेन्द्रियाणां जरयन्ति तेजः ।
अपि सर्वं जीवितमल्पमेव तवैव वाहास् तव नृत्यगीते śvobhāvā martyasya yad antakaitat sarvendriyāṇāṃ jarayanti tejaḥ |
api sarvaṃ jīvitam alpam eva tavaiva vāhās tava nṛtyagīte
The line
Things of tomorrow wear out a mortal's vigor, O ender, the vigor of all the senses. Even a whole life is short. Yours be the chariots. Yours the dance and the song.
नेपालीमा
हे अन्त्य गर्ने, भोलिका कुराहरूले मर्त्यको तेज, सबै इन्द्रियको तेज, खिइदिन्छन्। पूरा आयु पनि छोटो छ, रथ तपाईंका रहून्, नाच र गीत तपाईंका रहून्।
Where it sits
He is not negotiating a smaller gift. He is refusing the class. The next mantra says wealth does not satisfy, and the boon remains the one he chose.
Split: śvaḥ-bhāvāḥ (श्वः-भावाः) + martyasya (मर्त्यस्य) + yat (यत्) + antaka (अन्तक) + etat (एतत्) + sarva-indriyāṇām (सर्व-इन्द्रियाणाम्) + jarayanti (जरयन्ति) + tejaḥ (तेजः) + api (अपि) + sarvam (सर्वम्) + jīvitam (जीवितम्) + alpam eva (अल्पमेव) + tava eva (तव एव) + vāhāḥ (वाहाः) + nṛtya-gīte (नृत्य-गीते)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| śvaḥ-bhāvāḥ (श्वः-भावाः) | nominative plural, masculine | Things whose being is tomorrow. Heard śvobhāvā (श्वोभावा). |
| martyasya (मर्त्यस्य) | genitive singular, masculine | Of a mortal. |
| yat (यत्) | nominative singular, neuter | Since. What. Heard yad (यद्). |
| antaka (अन्तक) | vocative singular, masculine | O ender. A name of Death. Joins etat (एतत्): antakaitat (अन्तकैतत्). |
| etat (एतत्) | nominative singular, neuter | This. |
| sarva-indriyāṇām (सर्व-इन्द्रियाणाम्) | genitive plural, neuter | Of all the senses. Heard sarvendriyāṇām (सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम्). |
| jarayanti (जरयन्ति) | present, third person plural | They wear out, they age. |
| tejaḥ (तेजः) | accusative singular, neuter | The vigor, the brightness. |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | Even. |
| sarvam (सर्वम्) | nominative singular, neuter | All. Heard sarvaṃ (सर्वं). |
| jīvitam (जीवितम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Life. Heard jīvitam (जीवितम्). |
| alpam eva (अल्पमेव) | nominative, plus eva (एव) | Short indeed. Heard alpam eva (अल्पमेव). |
| tava eva (तव एव) | genitive plus eva (एव) | Yours alone. Heard tavaiva (तवैव). |
| vāhāḥ (वाहाः) | nominative plural, masculine | The chariots. Heard vāhās (वाहास्) before tava (तव). |
| nṛtya-gīte (नृत्य-गीते) | nominative dual, neuter | The dance and the song. |
The phrases
The boy turns the gifts back. They are tomorrow's things. They wear out the vigor of the senses. The chariots and the music can stay Death's.
Sanskrit in this line
Śvaḥ (श्वः) plus bhāvāḥ (भावाः) is śvobhāvāḥ (श्वोभावाः). Antaka (अन्तक) plus etat (एतत्) is antakaitat (अन्तकैतत्). Sarva (सर्व) plus indriyāṇām (इन्द्रियाणाम्) is sarvendriyāṇām (सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम्).
Say it back
Say what tomorrow's things do to the senses, and whose the chariots are to remain.