The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 5.6 I shall tell you
5.6
हन्त त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ।
यथा च मरणं प्राप्य आत्मा भवति गौतम hanta ta idaṃ pravakṣyāmi guhyaṃ brahma sanātanam |
yathā ca maraṇaṃ prāpya ātmā bhavati gautama
The line
Come, I shall tell you this secret, the ancient brahman (ब्रह्मन्), and how the self becomes, Gautama (गौतम), having met death.
नेपालीमा
आउ, म तिमीलाई यो रहस्य भन्छु, प्राचीन ब्रह्मन्, र मृत्यु भेटेपछि आत्मा कसरी हुन्छ, गौतम।
Where it sits
The promise is kept by the next mantras, not by a single definition in this line.
Split: hanta (हन्त) + te idam pravakṣyāmi (ते इदम् प्रवक्ष्यामि) + guhyam brahma sanātanam (गुह्यम् ब्रह्म सनातनम्) + yathā ca (यथा च) + maraṇam prāpya (मरणम् प्राप्य) + ātmā bhavati (आत्मा भवति) + gautama (गौतम)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| hanta (हन्त) | indeclinable | Come. A call to attention. |
| te idam pravakṣyāmi (ते इदम् प्रवक्ष्यामि) | I shall tell you this | Heard ta idaṃ pravakṣyāmi (त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि). |
| guhyam brahma sanātanam (गुह्यम् ब्रह्म सनातनम्) | the secret, ancient brahman (ब्रह्मन्) | Accusative. |
| yathā ca (यथा च) | and how | How. |
| maraṇam prāpya (मरणम् प्राप्य) | having reached death | Gerund. Heard maraṇaṃ prāpya (मरणं प्राप्य). |
| ātmā bhavati (आत्मा भवति) | the self becomes | Present. |
| gautama (गौतम) | vocative | Gautama (गौतम). |
The phrases
Death announces the telling: the secret ancient brahman (ब्रह्मन्), and how the self becomes after death.
Sanskrit in this line
Te idam (ते इदम्) is ta idam (त इदम्). Pravakṣyāmi (प्रवक्ष्यामि) is the future of pra-vac (प्र-वच्).
Say it back
Say the two things he will tell.