Katha:1.2.21

Mantra 1.2.21

Original Text:

आसीनो दूरं व्रजति शयानो याति सर्वतः ।
	कस्तं मदामदं देवं मदन्यो ज्ञातुमर्हति ॥ २१ ॥

āsīno dūraṃ vrajati śayāno yāti sarvataḥ |
	kastaṃ madāmadaṃ devaṃ madanyo jñātumarhati || 21 ||

Sanskrit Term	Transliteration	Hindi Meaning	English Word or Meaning	Comments
आसीनः	āsīnaḥ	बैठा हुआ – स्थिर अवस्था में स्थित	sitting – being in a state of stillness
दूरम्	dūram	दूर तक – बहुत दूर की ओर	far – to a great distance
व्रजति	vrajati	जाता है – गति करता है	goes – moves
शयानः	śayānaḥ	लेटा हुआ – विश्रांति की अवस्था में	lying – in a state of rest
याति	yāti	जाता है – गमन करता है	goes – proceeds
सर्वतः	sarvataḥ	सर्वत्र – सभी दिशाओं में	everywhere – in all directions
कः	kaḥ	कौन – कौन व्यक्ति	who – which person
तम्	tam	उसे – उस आत्मा को	him – that ātman
मद्-अमदम्	mad-amadam	आनन्दस्वरूप और अनानन्दस्वरूप – जो आनन्दमय भी है और नहीं भी	joyful and joyless – possessing both joy and absence of joy
देवं	devam	दिव्य – दिव्य सत्ता	divine – the divine being
मत्-अन्यः	mat-anyaḥ	मुझसे भिन्न – मेरे अलावा	other than me – apart from me
ज्ञातुम्	jñātum	जानने के लिए – बोध करने के लिए	to know – to realize
अर्हति	arhati	योग्य है – पात्र है	deserves – is worthy

Translation/Explanation

Hindi: बैठा हुआ (स्थिर अवस्था में) वह बहुत दूर तक जाता है; लेटा हुआ (विश्रांति की अवस्था में) वह सभी दिशाओं में जाता है। इस प्रकार, जो आत्मा आनन्दस्वरूप भी है और अनानन्दस्वरूप भी, उस दिव्य सत्ता को मेरे अलावा और कौन जानने का अधिकारी है? यहाँ आत्मा की सर्वव्यापकता और विरोधी गुणों का वर्णन करते हुए कहा गया है कि केवल अत्यंत सूक्ष्म बुद्धि और विवेक रखने वाले ही इस आत्मा को जान सकते हैं।

English: Sitting (āsīnaḥ), he goes far (dūram); lying (śayānaḥ), he goes everywhere (sarvataḥ). Who else but me (mat-anyaḥ) deserves to know (jñātum arhati) the divine (deva), who is both joyful and joyless (mad-amadam)? Here, the ātman is described as all-pervasive and possessing mutually opposed attributes, and it is stated that only those with subtle intellect and discrimination are capable of knowing this ātman.

Commentary

Otherwise, this ātman cannot be known by worldly men having desires, because sitting, i.e., not moving, he goes a great distance. Lying, he goes everywhere. Thus the ātman is both joyful and joyless. Thus he has properties mutually opposed; therefore it being impossible to know him, who else but me can know the ātman, who is joyful and joyless. It is only by persons like us of subtle intellect and learning that the ātman can be known. Being conditioned by conflicting attributes of fixity and movement, and of constancy and change, the ātman appears as if itself possessed conflicting attributes like Viśvarūpa, a sum of various forms, or (more properly) like Cintāmaṇi (a gem which appears according to the fancy of the seer). Therefore, Death indicates the difficulty of knowing the ātman by the statement ‘who else but me can know the ātman.’ The cessation of the activity of the senses is ‘lying;’ in the person lying, there is a cessation of the partial knowledge produced by the senses. In this state the ātman seems to go everywhere, because its knowledge then is of a general character, i.e., unqualified by conditions; but, though fixed in its own nature, when it has special or qualified knowledge it seems to go a great distance, because it is conditioned by the motion of the mind and the rest, but really he is here alone, i.e., in this body.

Concept List

ātman
mad-amadam
deva
Viśvarūpa
Cintāmaṇi
sarvataḥ
subtle intellect
fixity and movement
constancy and change