कठोपनिषद्Katha Upanishad

About this scripture

The Katha (or Kathaka) Upanishad, belonging to the Krishna Yajurveda, teaches the knowledge of the Self through the celebrated dialogue between the young seeker Nachiketa and Yama, the lord of Death. Given as a boon the answer to whether the Self survives death, Nachiketa receives the teaching of the deathless Self — unborn and eternal, "not slain when the body is slain" — together with the famous image of the body as a chariot (the Self its lord, the intellect the charioteer, the senses the horses) and the call "Arise! Awake!" (uttishthata jagrata). Arranged in two adhyayas of three vallis each, it is among the most beloved of the Upanishads. The Devanagari is given with strict IAST and a researched per-mantra meaning gloss in English and Hindi.