The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 1.3 Joyless worlds
1.3
पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः ।
अनन्दा नाम ते लोकास् तान् स गच्छति ता ददत् pītodakā jagdhatṛṇā dugdhadohā nirindriyāḥ |
anandā nāma te lokās tān sa gacchati tā dadat
The line
Their water drunk, their grass eaten, their milk taken, their strength gone: joyless are those worlds, and he goes to them who gives those.
नेपालीमा
पानी पिएको, घाँस खाएको, दूध लिएको, बल गएको, ती लोक आनन्दहीन छन्, र ती दिने त्यहीँ जान्छ।
Where it sits
This is the thought śraddhā (श्रद्धा) produced. He has not spoken yet. 1.4 is the question to the father.
Split: pīta-udakāḥ (पीत-उदकाः) + jagdha-tṛṇāḥ (जग्ध-तृणाः) + dugdha-dohāḥ (दुग्ध-दोहाः) + nirindriyāḥ (निरिन्द्रियाः) + anandāḥ (अनन्दाः) + nāma (नाम) + te (ते) + lokāḥ (लोकाः) + tān (तान्) + saḥ (सः) + gacchati (गच्छति) + tāḥ (ताः) + dadat (ददत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| pīta-udakāḥ (पीत-उदकाः) | nominative plural, feminine | Whose water has been drunk. The cows. Heard pītodakā (पीतोदका). |
| jagdha-tṛṇāḥ (जग्ध-तृणाः) | nominative plural, feminine | Whose grass has been eaten. |
| dugdha-dohāḥ (दुग्ध-दोहाः) | nominative plural, feminine | Whose milk has been milked. |
| nirindriyāḥ (निरिन्द्रियाः) | nominative plural, feminine | Without strength, their senses gone. |
| anandāḥ (अनन्दाः) | nominative plural, masculine | Joyless. Heard anandā (अनन्दा) before nāma (नाम). |
| nāma (नाम) | indeclinable | Indeed, by name. |
| te (ते) | nominative plural | Those. |
| lokāḥ (लोकाः) | nominative plural, masculine | Worlds. Heard lokās (लोकास्) before tān (तान्). |
| tān (तान्) | accusative plural, masculine | Those worlds. |
| saḥ (सः) | nominative singular, masculine | He. The giver. Heard sa (स). |
| gacchati (गच्छति) | present, third person singular | He goes. |
| tāḥ (ताः) | accusative plural, feminine | Those cows. Heard tā (ता). |
| dadat (ददत्) | nominative singular, masculine | Giving. A participle. The one who gives them. |
The phrases
Four compounds describe the cows. The worlds of the man who gives such cows are joyless, and he goes there.
Sanskrit in this line
Each compound is a bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि): the cows are the ones whose water, grass, milk, and senses are already used up.
Say it back
Say the four things wrong with the cows, and where the giver goes.