The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.29 No other
1.29
यस्मिन्निदं विचिकित्सन्ति मृत्यो यत् साम्पराये महति ब्रूहि नस् तत् ।
योऽयं वरो गूढमनुप्रविष्टो नान्यं तस्मान् नचिकेता वृणीते yasminn idaṃ vicikitsanti mṛtyo yat sāmparāye mahati brūhi nas tat |
yo 'yaṃ varo gūḍham anupraviṣṭo nānyaṃ tasmān naciketā vṛṇīte
The line
That about which they doubt, O Death, what is in the great passing-on, tell us that. This boon, which has entered into the hidden: Naciketas (नचिकेत) chooses no other than that.
नेपालीमा
हे मृत्यु, जसमा उनीहरू शंका गर्छन्, महान् गमनमा जे छ, त्यो हामीलाई भन। लुकेकोमा पसेको यो वर, नचिकेतले त्योभन्दा अर्को रोज्दैन।
Where it sits
The first vallī (वल्ली) ends. Yama (यम) stops offering substitutes. Vallī (वल्ली) 2 opens on the better and the pleasanter, which is his way of praising the choice just made.
Split: yasmin (यस्मिन्) + idam (इदम्) + vicikitsanti (विचिकित्सन्ति) + mṛtyo (मृत्यो) + yat (यत्) + sāmparāye (साम्पराये) + mahati (महति) + brūhi (ब्रूहि) + naḥ (नः) + tat (तत्) + yaḥ ayam (यः अयम्) + varaḥ (वरः) + gūḍham (गूढम्) + anupraviṣṭaḥ (अनुप्रविष्टः) + na anyam (न अन्यम्) + tasmāt (तस्मात्) + naciketā (नचिकेता) + vṛṇīte (वृणीते)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| yasmin (यस्मिन्) | locative singular, neuter | In which. About which. Heard yasminn (यस्मिन्न्) before idam (इदम्). |
| idam (इदम्) | accusative singular, neuter | This. Heard idaṃ (इदं). |
| vicikitsanti (विचिकित्सन्ति) | present, third person plural | They doubt. |
| mṛtyo (मृत्यो) | vocative | O Death. |
| yat (यत्) | accusative singular, neuter | What. |
| sāmparāye (साम्पराये) | locative singular, masculine | In the passing-on, the great beyond. The other side of death. |
| mahati (महति) | locative singular, masculine | In the great. Agrees with sāmparāye (साम्पराये). |
| brūhi (ब्रूहि) | imperative, second person singular | Tell. |
| naḥ (नः) | dative, or accusative | Us. Heard nas (न) before tat (तत्). |
| tat (तत्) | accusative singular, neuter | That. |
| yaḥ ayam (यः अयम्) | nominative | This which. Heard yo 'yam (योऽयम्). |
| varaḥ (वरः) | nominative singular, masculine | Boon. Heard varo (वरो). |
| gūḍham (गूढम्) | accusative singular, neuter | The hidden. Heard gūḍham (गूढम्). |
| anupraviṣṭaḥ (अनुप्रविष्टः) | nominative singular, masculine | Entered into. Heard anupraviṣṭo (अनुप्रविष्टो). |
| na anyam (न अन्यम्) | not another | Heard nānyam (नान्यम्), nānyaṃ (नान्यं). |
| tasmāt (तस्मात्) | ablative singular | Than that. Heard tasmān (तस्मान्) before naciketā (नचिकेता). |
| naciketā (नचिकेता) | nominative | Naciketas (नचिकेत). The narration names him. |
| vṛṇīte (वृणीते) | present, third person singular | He chooses. |
The phrases
An imperative, brūhi (ब्रूहि), and a closing by the narrator: Naciketas (नचिकेत) chooses no other.
Sanskrit in this line
Yasmin (यस्मिन्) plus idam (इदम्) is yasminn idam (यस्मिन्निदम्). Naḥ (नः) plus tat (तत्) is nas tat (नस् तत्). Yaḥ ayam (यः अयम्) is yo 'yam (योऽयम्). Tasmāt (तस्मात्) plus naciketā (नचिकेता) is tasmān naciketā (तस्मान् नचिकेता).
Say it back
Say what he asks Death to tell, and what he does not choose.