Katha:1.1.4

Mantra 1.1.4

Original Text:

स होवाच पितरं तत कस्मै मां दास्यसीति ।
	द्वितीयं तृतीयं तँ होवाच मृत्यवे त्वा ददामीति ॥ 4॥

sa hovāca pitaraṃ tata kasmai māṃ dāsyasīti ।
	dvitīyaṃ tṛtīyaṃ tam̐ hovāca mṛtyave tvā dadāmīti ॥ 4॥

Word-by-Word Breakdown

Sanskrit Term	Transliteration	Hindi Meaning	English Word or Meaning	Comments
स	sa	वह – वह व्यक्ति	he (the son, Nachiketas)
होवाच	hovāca	कहा – कहा (किसी ने कहा)	said/spoke
पितरम्	pitaram	पिता को – अपने पिता को	to father
तत्	tat	वह – वह (वचन/प्रश्न)	that (referring to the question)
कस्मै	kasmai	किसको – किस व्यक्ति को	to whom
माम्	mām	मुझे – स्वयं को	me
दास्यसी	dāsyasi	दोगे – दान करोगे	will you give
इति	iti	ऐसा – इस प्रकार	thus/so
द्वितीयम्	dvitīyam	दूसरी बार – दूसरी बार	second time
तृतीयम्	tṛtīyam	तीसरी बार – तीसरी बार	third time
तम्	tam	उसे – उस (नचिकेतस को)	to him
होवाच	hovāca	कहा – कहा (पिता ने कहा)	said/spoke
मृत्यवे	mṛtyave	मृत्यु को – मृत्यु के लिए	to Mṛtyu (Death)
त्वा	tvā	तुझे – तुम्हें	you
ददामि	dadāmi	देता हूँ – अर्पित करता हूँ	I give
इति	iti	ऐसा – इस प्रकार	thus/so

Translation/Explanation

Hindi

नचिकेतस ने अपने पिता से पूछा, "पिताजी, आप मुझे किसे देंगे?" यह प्रश्न उसने दूसरी और तीसरी बार भी दोहराया। उसके पिता ने, क्रोध में आकर, उत्तर दिया, "मैं तुम्हें मृत्यु (मृत्युदेवता) को देता हूँ।" यहाँ नचिकेतस अपने पिता के यज्ञ में किसी दोष के कारण उत्पन्न होने वाले अनिष्ट फल को दूर करने के लिए स्वयं को दान करने की बात कर रहा है, जिससे यज्ञ की पूर्णता हो सके।

English

Nachiketas approached his pitṛ and asked, "Father, to whom will you give me?" He repeated this question a second and third time. His pitṛ, in anger, replied, "I give you to Mṛtyu." Here, Nachiketas, as an uttama-putra, seeks to avert the negative karma-phala that might result from imperfection in the yajña by offering himself as daśinā, thereby aiming to perfect the sacrifice.

Commentary

Thinking that, as being the duty of an uttama-putra, he should ward off the undesirable karma-phala, which might befall his pitṛ on account of the imperfection in the yajña, by even giving himself away and thus perfect the sacrifice, Nachiketas approached his pitṛ and said to him, "Father, to whom, i.e., to which of the ṛtvik-s will you give me as daśinā, i.e., reward?" Though unheeded by his pitṛ thus addressed, he repeated the question a second time and a third time, "To whom will you give me?" The pitṛ, incensed at the thought that that was not like a boy, said to the son, "To Mṛtyu do I give thee."