The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 4.5 The honey-eater
4.5
य इमं मध्वदं वेद आत्मानं जीवमन्तिकात् ।
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ।
एतद् वै तत् ya imaṃ madhvadaṃ veda ātmānaṃ jīvam antikāt |
īśānaṃ bhūtabhavyasya na tato vijugupsate |
etad vai tat
The line
Who knows this honey-eater as the living self, from nearby, the lord of what was and what will be, does not shrink back from that. This, indeed, is that.
नेपालीमा
जसले यो मह खानेलाई नजिकबाट जीव आत्मा र भएको तथा हुनेको स्वामी जान्छ, त्यो त्यसबाट खुम्चिँदैन। यही नै त्यो हो।
Where it sits
Brahma Sūtra (सूत्र) 1.3.23 is the person the size of a thumb, and this lord of past and future is the same stretch of the Kaṭha (कठ). Īśā (ईशा) 6 uses vijugupsate (विजुगुप्सते) the same way.
Split: yaḥ (यः) + imam madhu-adam (इमम् मधु-अदम्) + veda (वेद) + ātmānam jīvam (आत्मानम् जीवम्) + antikāt (अन्तिकात्) + īśānam (ईशानम्) + bhūta-bhavyasya (भूत-भव्यस्य) + na tataḥ vijugupsate (न ततः विजुगुप्सते) + etat vai tat (एतत् वै तत्)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| yaḥ (यः) | who | Heard ya (य). |
| imam madhu-adam (इमम् मधु-अदम्) | this honey-eater | Heard imaṃ madhvadam (इमं मध्वदम्). |
| veda (वेद) | perfect | He knows. |
| ātmānam jīvam (आत्मानम् जीवम्) | the living self | Accusative. |
| antikāt (अन्तिकात्) | ablative | From near. As near. |
| īśānam (ईशानम्) | accusative | The ruler. Heard īśānam (ईशानम्). |
| bhūta-bhavyasya (भूत-भव्यस्य) | genitive | Of what has been and what will be. |
| na tataḥ vijugupsate (न ततः विजुगुप्सते) | he does not shrink from that | The verb of Īśā (ईशा) 6. |
| etat vai tat (एतत् वै तत्) | the refrain | This, indeed, is that. |
The phrases
Who knows this honey-eater, the living self, up close, lord of past and future, does not shrink from that.
Sanskrit in this line
Madhu-adam (मधु-अदम्) is honey-eater. Na tataḥ (न ततः) is na tato (न ततो).
Say it back
Say what he does not do.