Chapter 2
Story Analysis
Verse 13
In the thirteenth verse, again the phrase aṅguṣṭha-mātra appears—the same phrase used in the twelfth verse. Since this expression creates a lot of confusion, the speaker first explains its real meaning.
Most people interpret aṅguṣṭha-mātra literally—“thumb-sized.”
They assume the soul seated in the heart-cave is the size of a thumb. Then obvious questions arise:
– If it’s thumb-sized in a human, what about an ant?
– What about an elephant?
– Does the soul expand or shrink with the size of the body?
Such literal interpretations don’t stand logically.
After studying Vedic literature and speaking to traditional scholars, the speaker found a rare explanation mentioned by a sage named Śākalya. He breaks aṅguṣṭha into three parts:
aṅga – a limb or part of the body, meaning “in a part of the body,” in this case the heart-cave.
(u)ṣṭa / ṣṭha – derived from the root sthā, meaning “to remain, to stay.”
the middle syllable (u/gu/ṣa) – in Vedic usage, this syllable represents the Self or the Supreme.
In Vedic texts two sounds frequently appear—ī and u.
– ī stands for prakṛti (nature),
– u stands for puruṣa (the Self).
Śākalya says the syllable here indicates puruṣa.
So “aṅguṣṭha” actually means:
“The Self that remains seated in one part of the body—in the heart-cave.”
Then comes the word mātra—meaning “only in the sense of presence.”
Not active, not doing anything—only present.
So aṅguṣṭha-mātra puruṣa means:
“The Self is simply present in the heart-cave; it does not perform action. Action is performed by the power—prakṛti—inside the body.”
To explain this, the speaker gives an example:
Hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water only when electricity passes between them.
Electricity doesn't “do” the work; it only needs to be present.
It acts as a catalytic agent.
Similarly:
– The body acts.
– The mind thinks.
– The intellect decides.
– Nature performs all activity.
But all this works only because the Self is present—like a catalytic agent.
So the expression aṅguṣṭha-mātra beautifully conveys:
The Self is simply present. Nothing more. All activity belongs to prakṛti.
This compact phrasing avoids long explanations, yet says everything.
The verse also uses "ātmani" to mean “in the body.” In Upanishads, the word “ātman” can mean energy, mind, body, or the Supreme—depending on context. Here it means body.
The verse says:
– The Self is seated in the middle of the body (the heart-cave).
– It governs past and future.
– And one who knows this never criticizes anyone.
Why “governs past and future”?
Because whatever happened in the past happened according to the laws of the Supreme. We blame people or circumstances, but the scripture says:
Everything unfolds according to the laws of the Supreme—such as the law of attraction or the law of karma.
If someone insulted you, that was the return of the vibration you yourself once sent.
If you lose money, it comes under the law of karma—the return of something you once did.
The speaker gives a personal example:
A recent cyber-fraud caused a large amount of money to be taken from their account. Instead of anger or blame, they immediately remembered the law of karma: whatever returns to us must have gone from us at some time. The anger dissolved instantly.
When we understand divine laws, the mind remains pure and peaceful.
When we don’t understand them, we blame others—and the mind becomes impure.
Thus this verse teaches:
The Self is present, unchanging, and its laws govern everything; knowing this, criticism and blame naturally drop away.
Half of verse 13 is similar to verse 12. The new element is the phrase:
“jyotir iva adhumakam” – the Self is light, but without smoke.
It clarifies:
– All worldly forms of light involve heat, smoke, or waves—sunlight, fire, even electrical light.
– The Self’s light is not like that.
– It is pure radiance with no smoke, no heat, no vibration.
Another phrase is “sa eva adya saḥ svāḥ”
“He is the same today and tomorrow.”
All worldly things change from moment to moment.
But the Self never changes—today, tomorrow, in the next moment, in the next age.
He remains exactly the same.
Thus Yama tells Nachiketa:
– The Self is simply present (aṅguṣṭha-mātra).
– It is the ruler of past and future.
– It is pure light without smoke.
– It never changes.
And this completes verse 13.
Verse 14
“Just as rain that falls on a mountain peak flows in different directions, so too the one Self runs through all beings with different natures.”
This is an important verse.
It says:
– When rain falls on the top of a mountain, it flows in many directions.
– In the same way, one and the same Self flows through countless different temperaments.
Someone may be angry.
Someone else may be calm.
Someone may be greedy, someone generous.
But the inner consciousness—the Self—inside all of them is one.
Our mistake is that we look only at people’s outer nature.
We never look at the Self inside them.
Because we constantly observe people’s faults and tendencies, our own mind becomes impure.
This is why we remain disturbed.
If someone is angry, our mind reacts.
If someone is greedy, we judge them.
If someone is attached, we criticize.
This reaction pollutes our mind.
But the verse says:
Look at the Self inside everyone, not at their nature.
The Self is pure in all.
When our focus shifts from behavior to the Self, the mind becomes pure.
Just like a necklace with 108 beads—each bead may differ in color or shape, but the thread running through them is the same.
Similarly, different personalities have the same Self inside them.
When we develop Self-vision, our mind gradually becomes pure.
This completes verse 14.
Verse 15
“Just as pure water, falling on pure water, becomes one with it, so too the Self of a knower merges with the Supreme, O Gautama.”
Here, the verse states the main point:
The individual Self becomes one with the Supreme.
Like:
– Pure water mixing with pure water becomes indistinguishable.
– A river merging into the ocean loses its separate identity.
Words may differ—union, oneness, merging—but the meaning is the same:
the pure Self becomes one with the Supreme.
The verse uses the word Gautama, addressed to Nachiketa.
But “Gautama” is not used in the historical sense.
It is symbolic:
– gau means consciousness,
– tama is a suffix meaning “most excellent.”
So Gautama means one whose consciousness has become supremely pure and elevated.
Thus Yama tells Nachiketa:
“When consciousness becomes pure and elevated, it easily grasps the teaching that the Self and the Supreme are one.”
With this, the first Valli of the second chapter concludes.
In these fifteen verses, the Upanishad described the Self and the Supreme from many angles.