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Kathopanisad

Chapter 2 Valli 2 Mantra 1

Mantra

pu̱ram e̍kādaśa-dvāram a̱jasyā̍-vakra̱-ceta̍saḥ |
a̱nuṣṭhā̍ya na̱ śoca̍ti vi̱mukta̍śca vi̱mucya̍te |
e̱tad vai tat ||

puram = a city; ekādaśa-dvāram =possessed of 11 gates; ajasya = of the Birthless One; avakracetasaḥ = of the One whose knowledge is not crooked; anuṣṭhāya = ruling, guiding or meditating upon That; na = does not; śocati = grieve, experience sorrow; vimuktaḥ ca = and being freed; vimucyate = is liberated indeed; etad vai tat = this verily is that.

The city of the unborn (Brahman) whose knowledge is permanent, has eleven gates. Adoring Him, one does not grieve and liberated (from all bonds of ignorance), he becomes free. This verily is That.

by Swami Chinmayananda:

Puram-ekadasa-dvaram (City with Eleven Gates) — The body with its eleven opening-gates is meant here by the “city”. We have altogether seven openings in the head, three openings in the trunk and the eleventh one is the subtle aperture called the “Brahmarandhra” at the crown of the head, famous in the Yoga-sastra.

The comparison of the body with a city is quite appropriate inasmuch as we have gates, gate keepers, their controllers, a palace and a king, under whose orders all the servants carry out their appointed duties very systematically and very regularly, both in a city as well as in the body. The sense organ openings are the gates; the presiding deities are the gate-keepers; the mind, the controller; and Purusha, the King.

Anushtaya (having meditated upon) — He who meditates upon the Lord of the Heart constantly gets rid of his Ignorance and ignorance created ego sense and realizes the True Nature of the Self. Thereafter, naturally, he grieves not, being liberated from all bonds of ignorance and becoming free from the trammels of birth and death.

This is “That” which Nachiketas had asked of his Guru Lord Death, to explain.

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