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Kathopanisad

Chapter 1 Valli 3 Mantra 16

Lecture

Mantra

nā̱cike̱tam u̍pākhyā̱na̱ṁ mṛ̱tyu-pro̍ktaṁ sa̱nāta̍nam |
u̱ktvā śru̱tvā ca̍ medhā̱vī̱ bra̱hma-lo̍ke ma̱hīya̍te ||

uktvā = telling, relating; ca śrutvā = and listening to; upākhyānam = the story and the knowledge; nāciketam = of naciketas; mṛtyu-proktaṁ = as told by Death; sanātanam = is eternal; medhāvī = the intelligent person; mahīyate = is magnified, glorified; brahma-loke = in the world of Brahma.

The intelligent one having heard and repeated this ancient story of Nachiketas told by Death, is glorified, in the world of Brahman.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

In the 16th and 17th Mantras with which the first chapter of Kathopanishad ends, we have a brief statement glorifying the very Upanishad. Such statements of eulogy are very frequent in the style of the scriptures and according to Shri Sankara these statements are often pronounced with a view to encouraging the seekers to study and follow the path.

It is noteworthy that Shri Śaṅkaracharya in his commentary points out that Brahma Loka can have two interpretations: it can be either “the world of the Creator” meaning the Hiranyagarbha State (Brahma Loka), or it can be the world of the Self-effulgent Brahman (Brahmarupi Loka, where Loka means Prakasaroopa). In short, if an intelligent one, who has a large share of retentive capacity and has memorized the first three Vallis of this Upanishad, were to repeat these Mantras often in the presence of others, and thus contribute to the dissemination of them, he shall come to enjoy the transcendental joys of the Brahma Loka. And if we were to accept the other interpretation of Shri Sankara, we shall have to twist a lot the meaning of the words ‘hears’ and “repeats; for wherein, “hearing” and “repeating should mean hearing the Truth from a perfect Master and repeating it through one’s own reflections and meditations until at last one becomes a full Gyani. Then such a great soul shall come to enjoy this Brahmarupi Loka; for, “the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman “, is a famous scriptural declaration.

by Swami Gurubhaktananda:

Glory of the “Nachiketa” Knowledge:

1 Nāchiketam upākhyānam       This (Vedic) knowledge as received by Nachiketa,
2 mrityu proktam sanātanam;    and as told by the Lord of Death, is eternal;
3 uktvā shrutvā cha medhāvē    relating it or hearing it, the intelligent one
4 brahma loke mahēyate.           becomes worthy of glorification in the world of Brahman (or in Brahma Loka).

The Pada could be interpreted in two ways:

1. Upaakhyaanam: “story”. In this case, ‘Nachiketa’ becomes an adjective to ‘story’, giving “The Nachiketa Story”, identifying which story. This is in keeping with the earlier usage of “The Nachiketa Fire” where the entire sacrificial fire was named after
2. Upaakhyaanam: the alternative meaning is “knowledge”. In this case, the Pada could mean either the specific knowledge as taught to Nachiketa by Lord Yama; or that the knowledge is named after him, as “The Nachiketa Knowledge”.

• The knowledge (or the story) is “eternal” because it is from the Vedas, which are eternal. The glorification of either is ultimately the glorification of the Vedas itself.
• The knowledge (or the story) is also glorified by associating it with an intelligent young seeker of exceptional qualities and a pure intellect. As a slight variant, the intelligent student who understands this knowledge is equally glorified in the process.
• Acharyaji expressed it with another metaphor: “A good book is a good meal.” Knowledge was always greatly respected in Vedic culture.
• By stating that the fruit of this knowledge is twofold:

1. It can be Brahman, the highest Goal of human life if by knowledge is meant Brahma Vidya, the Knowledge of the
2. It can be Brahmaloka, the highest heavenly region if the knowledge is taken to mean knowledge of the “Nachiketa Fire Sacrifice”.

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