कठोपनिषद् Kaṭha Upaniṣad
Dialogue between Naciketas and Yama, the god of death. Contains the celebrated chariot metaphor and teachings on the Ātman, death, and the discipline of yoga.
Relevance for yoga
First explicit mention of "yoga" as a systematic discipline. The chariot metaphor establishes the hierarchy: ātman → buddhi → manas → senses.
ātmandeathyogabuddhi
Selected verses (15)
- 1.2.12 taṃ durdarśaṃ gūḍhamanupraviṣṭaṃ guhāhitaṃ gahvareṣṭhaṃ purāṇam | adhyātmayogādhigamena devaṃ matvā dhīro harṣaśokau jahāti That (Ātman) difficult to see, hidden, entered into the secret place, dwelling in the cave (of the heart), abiding in the deep, the Ancient — knowing Him through the yoga of self-knowledge, the wise one abandons joy and sorrow.
- 1.2.18 na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścin nāyaṃ kutaścin na babhūva kaścit | ajo nityaḥ śāśvato'yaṃ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre The knower is not born, nor does it die; it did not come from anywhere, nor did it become anything. Unborn, eternal, permanent, ancient — it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.
- 1.2.19 hantā cenmanyate hantuṃ hataścenmanyate hatam | ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṃ hanti na hanyate If the killer thinks he kills, or if the killed thinks he is killed — both do not understand. This (Ātman) neither kills nor is killed.
- 1.2.20 aṇoraṇīyān mahato mahīyān ātmā'sya jantornihito guhāyām | tamakratuḥ paśyati vītaśoko dhātuprasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ Subtler than the subtle, greater than the great — the Ātman is hidden in the cave of the heart of this being. Free from desire, free from sorrow, one sees the glory of the Ātman through the grace of the Creator (or: through the serenity of the senses).
- 1.2.23 nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena | yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṃ svām This Ātman cannot be attained through discourse, nor through the intellect, nor through much study. Only the one whom He chooses attains Him; to that one, the Ātman reveals His own form.
- 1.3.3 ātmānaṃ rathinaṃ viddhi śarīraṃ ratham eva tu | buddhiṃ tu sārathiṃ viddhi manaḥ pragraham eva ca Know the Ātman as the lord of the chariot, the body as the chariot itself, the intellect as the charioteer, and the mind as the reins.
- 1.3.4 indriyāṇi hayānāhur viṣayāṃs teṣu gocarān | ātmendriyamanoyuktaṃ bhoktetyāhur manīṣiṇaḥ The senses, they say, are the horses; the objects of the senses are the roads. The Ātman united with the senses and the mind, the wise call the enjoyer.
- 1.3.10 indriyebhyaḥ parā hyarthā arthebhyaśca paraṃ manaḥ | manasastu parā buddhir buddherātmā mahān paraḥ Beyond the senses are the objects; beyond the objects is the mind. Beyond the mind is the intellect; beyond the intellect is the great Ātman.
- 1.3.11 mahataḥ paramavyaktam avyaktāt puruṣaḥ paraḥ | puruṣānna paraṃ kiṃcit sā kāṣṭhā sā parā gatiḥ Beyond the Great is the Unmanifested; beyond the Unmanifested is the Puruṣa. Beyond the Puruṣa there is nothing — that is the limit, that is the supreme goal.
- 1.3.14 uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata | kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṃ pathas tat kavayo vadanti Arise! Awake! Having obtained excellent teachers, understand. Sharp as a razor's edge, difficult to cross — thus the wise declare the path to be.
- 2.1.1 parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūs tasmāt parāṅ paśyati nāntarātman | kaścid dhīraḥ pratyag-ātmānam aikṣad āvṛtta-cakṣur amṛtatvam icchan The Self-created pierced the openings outward; therefore one looks outward, not at the inner Self. Some wise one, desiring immortality, with eyes turned inward, saw the inner Self.
- 2.1.10 yadeveha tadamutra yadamutra tadanviha | mṛtyoḥ sa mṛtyumāpnoti ya iha nāneva paśyati What is here, that is there; what is there, that is here. From death to death goes one who sees difference here.
- 2.1.11 manasaivedamāptavyaṃ neha nānāsti kiṃcana | mṛtyoḥ sa mṛtyuṃ gacchati ya iha nāneva paśyati By the mind alone must this be understood: there is no multiplicity here whatsoever. From death to death goes one who sees difference here.
- 2.3.1 ūrdhvamūlo'vākśākha eṣo'śvatthaḥ sanātanaḥ | tadeva śukraṃ tadbrahma tadevāmṛtamucyate | tasmiṃllokāḥ śritāḥ sarve tadu nātyeti kaścana With roots above and branches below, this Aśvattha tree is eternal. That is the pure, that is Brahman, that is called the immortal. In it rest all the worlds; no one transcends it.
- 2.3.17 aṅguṣṭhamātraḥ puruṣo'ntarātmā sadā janānāṃ hṛdaye saṃniviṣṭaḥ | taṃ svāccharīrātpravṛhenmuñjādiveṣīkāṃ dhairyeṇa | taṃ vidyācchukramamṛtaṃ taṃ vidyācchukramamṛtamiti Of the size of a thumb, the Puruṣa, the inner Self, is always seated in the heart of beings. One should draw Him out from one's own body with firmness, like the stalk from the muñja grass. Know Him as pure and immortal — know Him as pure and immortal.