Chapter 2
Story Analysis
In the first Valli of the first chapter of the Kaṭhopaniṣad, Nachiketa had asked Yama: “Tell me about the soul, about the Supreme Being. After death, does the soul die or not? Please make me aware of this knowledge.”
Nachiketa asked this question in the first Valli, and from the second Valli onward, the description of the soul and the Supreme continues in many forms. In this Valli too, the greatness and nature of the soul and the Supreme, and the importance of knowing them, are explained in several ways. We will take each verse one by one.
Verse 1 (Second Chapter, First Valli)
I’ll read the verse and point out what is important:
“Parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhūḥ… amṛtatvam icchan.”
It means:
“The self-existent Supreme Being made all the senses naturally outward-turned. Therefore a person generally sees only external objects through the senses and not the inner Self. Only a fortunate and intelligent person, wishing for the immortal state, turns the senses inward and sees the inner Self.”
This verse highlights two main points:
Our five sense organs and five organs of action naturally move outward.
Their nature is to go toward external objects. If we want to turn them inward—toward the inner Self—we first need a genuine desire to do so.
If we don’t have this inner desire, it becomes very difficult, because the senses naturally run outward.Just as even in worldly life, no work happens unless we truly want to do it, the same applies here.
If we wish to understand ourselves, the soul, this world, the universe, or the Supreme, that inner desire must arise. Only then can we absorb the teachings deeply; otherwise the mind and senses keep wandering.
The verse then uses the word Svayambhū—meaning self-existent.
Who is self-existent? The Supreme Self, the pure Self. The body is not self-existent; it is born of parents. So here “Svayambhū” refers to the soul or Supreme.
Scriptures sometimes use “Svayambhū” for Brahmā as well. But Brahmā here does not mean a person—it refers to the creative power within the Supreme. Brahmā, Vishnu, and Mahesh represent the creative, sustaining, and dissolving powers of the Supreme. Since the Supreme is self-existent, His powers are also self-existent.
But in this verse, “Svayambhū” refers only to the Supreme or the Self.
Since the senses naturally go outward, effort is needed to turn them inward. Spiritual difficulty arises because nothing inner happens by itself. Going outward requires no effort—like water flowing down a slope. But turning inward is like trying to move water uphill: it needs conscious effort and awakened intelligence.
Verse 2
“Parāñca kāmān anuyanti bālāḥ…”
Meaning:
“Foolish people run after external pleasures and remain absorbed in them. They fall into the wide-spread net of death. But the wise, knowing the eternal immortal state, do not desire any of the temporary pleasures of this world.”
This adds one more point:
Those who turn inward toward the soul are wise.
Those who stay stuck in external pleasures are called foolish.
Such people keep going from one body to another, trapped in the cycle of death repeatedly.
The fear of death, the thought of losing everything, the anxiety about the unknown—these bind a person. Death itself doesn’t bind anyone; it's the fear and ignorance surrounding death that binds.
Those who don’t turn toward the soul remain caught in these anxieties.
Verse 3
“Yena rūpaṁ rasaṁ gandhaṁ…”
Meaning:
“It is by His grace that a person experiences form, taste, smell, sound, touch, and the pleasures of sexuality. And it is by His grace that one understands what remains beyond all this. That is the very Supreme you asked about, Nachiketa.”
The first description of the greatness of the Supreme in this chapter is this:
Through His presence,
– we see form,
– taste flavors,
– smell fragrances,
– hear sounds,
– feel touch,
– experience sexual pleasure.
This refers not to the external organs but to the conscious power behind them.
Eyes can exist, but when consciousness leaves, the power to see disappears.
The same applies to taste, smell, hearing, touch, and action.
In the second line, the verse says:
From this same conscious power arises the understanding that the body is mortal, that another body will come, and that nothing material is permanent. The inner sense of life’s purpose also arises only because of this consciousness.
Thus the greatness of the Supreme and the Self is described in this third verse.
Verse 4
“Svapnāntam jāgaritāntam ca…”
Meaning:
“Through Him we see the scenes of dreams and also the scenes of the waking state. Knowing this supreme, all-pervading Self, a wise person does not grieve.”
A foolish person grieves because he thinks that with the body’s death everything ends.
But the wise know that all activities—dream and waking—happen due to the presence of consciousness. Without it, nothing can be experienced.
Though this is a knowledge text, it uses the devotional phrase “by His grace”. The Sanskrit simply says “by which” (yen). But the translator expresses it devotionally as “by His grace,” which is fine.
Verse 5
“Ya imaṁ madhvadaṁ veda…”
Meaning:
“One who knows this Supreme—giver of the fruits of action, giver of life to all, and ruler of past, present, and future—never criticizes anyone.”
Yama again says, “This is the very Self you asked about.”
The verse lists three qualities of the Supreme:
Giver of the fruits of actions — though we know actions create impressions, we do not know how the results manifest. That entire arrangement is operated by the Supreme.
Giver of life to all.
Ruler of past, present, and future — nothing happens by our will alone.
One who understands this never criticizes anyone—not merely gossip, but in the deeper sense:
He sees the same Supreme residing in all beings.
When this vision of oneness arises, negative thoughts toward others disappear.
A feeling of equality and compassion arises.
The verse also uses the word atikrāt meaning “near”.
The Supreme is not far away—He is the closest of all, closer even than our own face, which we cannot see without a mirror.
Because He resides within everyone, one naturally develops equanimity and goodwill.
Verse 6
“Yaḥ pūrvaṁ tapaso jātaṁ…”
Meaning:
“The Supreme who manifested before the waters, who was born before everything, who enters the cave of the heart and resides with the individual soul—one who sees Him truly sees correctly. This is that very Supreme you asked about, Nachiketa.”
Here the main point is:
The Supreme manifested first—even before the waters.
“Tapa” here does not mean austerity, but the Supreme’s own self-manifesting nature, often symbolically expressed as the “resolve” of the One becoming many.
It is not a resolve made by a person, but a way for us to understand the manifestation of the One into many.
Because we currently live with the sense of being an individual soul, we see both the individual soul and the pure Self within. It is like the parable of two birds on one tree—one is the pure Self, the other the individual Jiva.
True seeing means seeing not just the Jiva but also the pure Self that enables the Jiva to exist.
One who sees both together sees correctly.