The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 3.14 Stand up
3.14
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान् निबोधत ।
क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस् तत् कवयो वदन्ति uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata |
kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṃ pathas tat kavayo vadanti
The line
Stand up. Wake. Having reached the best, learn. A sharpened razor's edge, hard to cross: that path is hard going, the seers say.
नेपालीमा
उठ, जाग, उत्तममा पुगेर सिक। धार लगाएको छुराको धार पार गर्न गाह्रो छ, त्यो बाटो कठिन छ भनी द्रष्टाहरू भन्छन्।
Where it sits
The commands are to whoever hears, not only to the boy. The path is the one whose far shore was Viṣṇu (विष्णु)'s step.
Split: uttiṣṭhata (उत्तिष्ठत) + jāgrata (जाग्रत) + prāpya (प्राप्य) + varān (वरान्) + nibodhata (निबोधत) + kṣurasya dhārā (क्षुरस्य धारा) + niśitā (निशिता) + duratyayā (दुरत्यया) + durgam (दुर्गम्) + pathaḥ (पथः) + tat (तत्) + kavayaḥ (कवयः) + vadanti (वदन्ति)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| uttiṣṭhata (उत्तिष्ठत) | imperative, second person plural | Stand up. From ut-sthā (उत्-स्था). |
| jāgrata (जाग्रत) | imperative, second person plural | Wake. |
| prāpya (प्राप्य) | gerund | Having reached. |
| varān (वरान्) | accusative plural, masculine | The best. Excellent teachers, or the boons. |
| nibodhata (निबोधत) | imperative, second person plural | Learn. From ni-budh (नि-बुध्). |
| kṣurasya dhārā (क्षुरस्य धारा) | nominative singular, feminine | A razor's edge. |
| niśitā (निशिता) | nominative singular, feminine | Sharpened. |
| duratyayā (दुरत्यया) | nominative singular, feminine | Hard to cross. |
| durgam (दुर्गम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Hard going. Heard durgaṃ (दुर्गं). |
| pathaḥ (पथः) | genitive singular, masculine | Of the path. Heard pathas (पथ) before tat (तत्). |
| tat (तत्) | nominative singular, neuter | That. |
| kavayaḥ (कवयः) | nominative plural, masculine | The seers. Heard kavayo (कवयो). |
| vadanti (वदन्ति) | present, third person plural | They say. |
The phrases
Three plural commands, then the path as a sharpened razor's edge.
Sanskrit in this line
Pathaḥ tat (पथः तत्) is pathas tat (पथस् तत्). A visarga before t (त्) is heard as s (स्).
Say it back
Say the three commands, and what the path is like.