The Upaniṣads / Kaṭha / 6.2 The whole world trembles
6.2
यदिदं किं च जगत् सर्वं प्राण एजति निःसृतम् ।
महद् भयं वज्रमुद्यतं य एतद् विदुरमृतास् ते भवन्ति yad idaṃ kiṃ ca jagat sarvaṃ prāṇa ejati niḥsṛtam |
mahad bhayaṃ vajram udyataṃ ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
The line
Whatever this whole world is, sent forth, trembles in the breath, a great fear, a lifted thunderbolt. Who know this become deathless.
नेपालीमा
यो सारा संसार जे हो, निस्केर श्वासमा काँप्छ, ठूलो डर, उठेको वज्र। यो जान्नेहरू अमर हुन्छन्।
Where it sits
Brahma Sūtra (सूत्र) 1.3.40 says the breath in which the whole world trembles is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्). The next mantra names fire, sun, Indra (इन्द्र), wind, and death as the ones who run from that fear.
Split: yat idam kim ca (यतिदम् किम् च) + jagat sarvam (जगत् सर्वम्) + prāṇe ejati (प्राणे एजति) + niḥsṛtam (निःसृतम्) + mahat bhayam (महत् भयम्) + vajram udyatam (वज्रमुद्यतम्) + ye etat viduḥ (ये एतत् विदुः) + amṛtāḥ te bhavanti (अमृताः ते भवन्ति)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| yat idam kim ca (यतिदम् किम् च) | whatever this | Heard yad idaṃ kiṃ ca (यदिदं किं च). |
| jagat sarvam (जगत् सर्वम्) | the whole moving world | Heard jagat sarvaṃ (जगत् सर्वं). |
| prāṇe ejati (प्राणे एजति) | trembles in the breath | This pāṭha (पाठ) has prāṇa ejati (प्राण एजति). Locative sense, the breath. |
| niḥsṛtam (निःसृतम्) | sent forth | Heard niḥsṛtam (निःसृतम्). |
| mahat bhayam (महत् भयम्) | a great fear | Heard mahad bhayaṃ (महद् भयं). |
| vajram udyatam (वज्रमुद्यतम्) | a raised thunderbolt | Heard vajram udyatam (वज्रमुद्यतम्). |
| ye etat viduḥ (ये एतत् विदुः) | who know this | Heard ya etad vidur (य एतद् विदुर्). |
| amṛtāḥ te bhavanti (अमृताः ते भवन्ति) | they become deathless | Nominative plural. |
The phrases
The whole world, sent forth, trembles in the breath. A great fear, like a raised bolt. Who know this become deathless.
Sanskrit in this line
Mahat bhayam (महत् भयम्) is mahad bhayam (महद् भयम्). Ye etat viduḥ (ये एतत् विदुः) is ya etad viduḥ (य एतद् विदुः).
Say it back
Say what trembles, and what the knowers become.