Translator’s Note

The Kaṭhopaniṣad fascinates me—of the boy Naciketa who visits the house of Yama (god of death), and asks him: "asti iti eke, nāsti iti eke." Translation: "Some say it is, some say it isn’t."

I nod my head here. Yes, tell us, Yama, which is it? And what is it? Soul? Death? Life after death? 

Who doesn’t want to know! Yama’s reply is the teaching of the Kaṭhopaniṣad and Naciketa is the medium for the teaching, and proxy for the reader. 

We think we know what life is, and may be able to describe some of the features that define it, such as breathing and movement. After all, we live it. Life is. And we imagine death as the cessation of life. 

Is “death” a word representing a moment in time, and of that particular moment of cessation of life as we imagine it? Is it any more than a name for the moment that divides life from whatever is ‘after-life’? 

“Death” has been imagined as an entity with a name and form even in ancient literature. By contrast, perhaps life needs no personification, for we are its personifications. In ancient Indian hymns of the Vedas, and in the Upaniṣads and Purāṇas, death is controlled by a male god, Yama. Typically, Yama is an unwelcome visitor—his arrival or presence is followed by a death. Legends consider Yama’s role as that of “collection.” There are very few temples dedicated to Yama. 

In most narratives that feature Yama, he does not find a central role. However, one narrative gives Yama a central position—the Kaṭhopaniṣad. 

Different versions of the story are also in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Vārāha Purāṇa. But names first, because all introductions begin there. And accurate pronunciations, because it matters. 

Naciketa’s name is pronounced Nuh-chi (as in chin)-Kay-Th-uh (th as in thread), and Yama’s name is pronounced Y-uh-m-uh. “Naciketa” is also the name of a particular fire used in a vedic yajña (sacred fire ritual with oblations to the gods and mantras (chants) from vedas)—the story of Kaṭhopaniṣad is also its explanation. 

Perhaps because this Upaniṣad has a striking narrative, the title is often thought to be derived from “kathā”, the word for “story” in Sanskrit and many Indian languages. However, Kaṭhopaniṣad is actually named after sage Kaṭha, who founded a branch of the Krishna Yajurveda, and pronounced with a retroflex ṭ (as in “tough”). 

Kaṭhopaniṣad has the status of a revelation—revealed (by the cosmos?), received by a seer. The date of its composition or reception is unknown, but it was in the early part of the first millennium, for a commentary was written by no less than the ca. 8th century CE seer-philosopher Ādi Śaṅkarācārya.

Kaṭhopaniṣad is organized into chapters (adhyāya) and sections (vallī). Whereas some editions have six sections, others organize it into two chapters of three sections each. I follow the format of six sections for numbering. Except two lines of prose at the beginning, the rest of Kaṭhopaniṣad is in verse form, and has 118 stanzas. 

I consulted previous translations, and weighed them, and I was helped by them even when and especially when I concluded they were not clear. To help my reader benefit from my understanding of the text, I included parenthetical remarks which serve as interpretations, clarifications and even as joineries between the stanzas, while signaling that they are not translations of the source-text.