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॥
| Sanskrit Term | Transliteration | Hindi Meaning | English Word or Meaning | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| स | sa | वह – यह (नचिकेता) | he (Nachiketa) | |
| होवाच | hovāca | कहा – बोला | said | |
| पितरम् | pitaram | पिता को – अपने जनक से | to his father | |
| तत् | tat | वह – (वचन) | that (statement) | |
| कस्मै | kasmai | किसको – किस व्यक्ति को | to whom | |
| माम् | mām | मुझे – स्वयं को | me (myself) | |
| दास्यसीति | dāsyasīti | दोगे – समर्पित करोगे | will you give | |
| द्वितीयम् | dvitīyam | दूसरी बार – पुनः | a second time | |
| तृतीयम् | tṛtīyam | तीसरी बार – फिर से | a third time | |
| तम् | tam | उससे – उससे (नचिकेता से) | to him (Nachiketa) | |
| होवाच | hovāca | कहा – बोला | said | |
| मृत्यवे | mṛtyave | मृत्यु को – यमराज को | to Mṛtyu (Death, Yama) | |
| त्वा | tvā | तुझे – तुम्हें | you (thee) | |
| ददामि | dadāmi | देता हूँ – समर्पित करता हूँ | I give | |
| इति | iti | ऐसा – इस प्रकार | thus |
Translation/Explanation
Hindi: नचिकेता ने अपने पिता से कहा, "पिताजी, आप मुझे किसे देंगे?" उसने यह प्रश्न दूसरी बार और फिर तीसरी बार भी पूछा। तब उसके पिता ने कहा, "मैं तुम्हें मृत्यु (मृत्यवे, अर्थात् यमराज) को देता हूँ।" इस प्रसंग में नचिकेता अपने पिता के यज्ञ की पूर्णता के लिए स्वयं को दान में देने की बात करता है, जिससे यज्ञ में कोई दोष न रहे।
English: Nachiketa approached his father and asked, "Father, to whom will you give me?" He repeated this question a second and a third time. His father, in irritation, replied, "I give you to Mṛtyu (Death, that is, Yama)." Here, Nachiketa, seeking to ensure the perfection of his father's yajña, offers himself as dāna so that no imperfection remains in the sacrifice.
Commentary
Thinking that, as being the duty of a good son, he should ward off the undesirable consequences, which might befall his father on account of the imperfection in the yajña, by even giving himself away and thus perfect the yajña, he approached his father and said to him, ‘father, to whom, i.e., to which of the Ṛtviks will you give me as dakṣiṇā, i.e., reward? though unheeded by his father thus addressed, he repeated the question a second time and a third time ‘to whom will you give me,’ ‘to whom will you give me?’ The father incensed at the thought that that was not like a boy said to the son ‘to Mṛtyu do I give thee.’