The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 2.15 The syllable
2.15
सर्वे वेदा यत् पदमामनन्ति तपांसि सर्वाणि च यद् वदन्ति ।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति तत् ते पदं संग्रहेण ब्रवीमि ओमित्येतत् sarve vedā yat padam āmananti tapāṃsi sarvāṇi ca yad vadanti |
yad icchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti tat te padaṃ saṃgraheṇa bravīmi om ity etat
The line
The station which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities say, desiring which they live the student's life: that station I tell you in brief. It is oṃ (ओं).
नेपालीमा
सबै वेदले जुन स्थान बताउँछन्, सबै तपले जुन भन्छन्, जसलाई चाहेर उनीहरू विद्यार्थी जीवन बिताउँछन्, त्यो स्थान म तिमीलाई संक्षेपमा भन्छु। त्यो ओं हो।
Where it sits
This is the same syllable as the Māṇḍūkya (माण्डूक्य) and as Gītā (गीता) 8.13. The Gītā (गीता) line tat te padaṃ saṃgraheṇa pravakṣye (तत् ते पदं संग्रहेण प्रवक्ष्ये) is this sentence's kin: a station told in brief. Yoga Sūtra (सूत्र) 1.27 calls it praṇava (प्रणव). The next mantra says the syllable is brahman (ब्रह्मन्).
Split: sarve (सर्वे) + vedāḥ (वेदाः) + yat (यत्) + padam (पदम्) + āmananti (आमनन्ति) + tapāṃsi (तपांसि) + sarvāṇi (सर्वाणि) + ca (च) + yat (यत्) + vadanti (वदन्ति) + yat (यत्) + icchantaḥ (इच्छन्तः) + brahmacaryam (ब्रह्मचर्यम्) + caranti (चरन्ति) + tat (तत्) + te (ते) + padam (पदम्) + saṃgraheṇa (संग्रहेण) + bravīmi (ब्रवीमि) + om (ओम्) + iti (इति) + etat (एतत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| sarve (सर्वे) | nominative plural | All. |
| vedāḥ (वेदाः) | nominative plural | The Vedas. Heard vedā (वेदा). |
| yat (यत्) | accusative | Which. |
| padam (पदम्) | accusative | Station, word, step. Heard padam (पदम्). |
| āmananti (आमनन्ति) | present, third person plural | They repeat, they declare. |
| tapāṃsi (तपांसि) | nominative plural, neuter | Austerities. |
| sarvāṇi (सर्वाणि) | nominative plural, neuter | All. |
| ca (च) | and | And. |
| yat (यत्) | accusative | Which. |
| vadanti (वदन्ति) | present | They say. |
| yat (यत्) | accusative | Which. |
| icchantaḥ (इच्छन्तः) | nominative plural | Desiring. Heard icchanto (इच्छन्तो). |
| brahmacaryam (ब्रह्मचर्यम्) | accusative | The student's life. Heard brahmacaryaṃ (ब्रह्मचर्यं). |
| caranti (चरन्ति) | present | They practice. |
| tat (तत्) | accusative | That. Heard tat (तत्). |
| te (ते) | dative | To you. |
| padam (पदम्) | accusative | The station. Heard padaṃ (पदं). |
| saṃgraheṇa (संग्रहेण) | instrumental | In brief. In sum. |
| bravīmi (ब्रवीमि) | present, first person | I tell. |
| om (ओम्) | indeclinable | The syllable. |
| iti (इति) | quotes | Marks it. |
| etat (एतत्) | nominative | This. That is it. |
The phrases
Three relative clauses, one station, then the brief telling: oṃ (ओं). The words om ity etat (ओमित्येतत्) are the answer, set after the verse.
Sanskrit in this line
Om iti etat (ओमिति एतत्) is om ity etat (ओमित्येतत्). i (इ) plus e (ए) is ye (ये). The edition sets om ity etat (ओमित्येतत्) as the close of this mantra, not as a separate verse.
Say it back
Say the one-word answer.