Analysis of Kathopanishad Chapter 2, Valli 2 - Part 3

Verse 9

The verse says:

“Just as the one fire, entering the whole universe, appears in many forms resembling the forms it enters, so the one inner Self, though one, appears in countless forms according to the beings it enters—and yet is also beyond them.”

Here the nature of the Supreme taking infinite forms is explained through the example of fire.

Fire is one, but it takes on various names and shapes depending on where it appears:

– The fire in the ocean is called vadavāgni.
– The fire that digests food in our body is jatharāgni.
– When a person becomes extremely skilled in action, that awakened inner power is called dakṣiṇāgni.
– The sacrificial fire receiving offerings is āhavanīya agni.
– The household fire is gārhapatya agni.

It’s still one fire, but because of the vessel and context, it appears in different forms.

Similarly, the Supreme is one, yet appears differently in each form:

– In a human body, that same Supreme is referred to as jīvātmā.
– In a tree, the same principle is present but doesn’t get called jīvātmā; it expresses itself as the life-force enabling the seed to grow.

Thus the Supreme takes on many names and appearances according to the form it is functioning through.

The verse ends with the word bahihi—“beyond.”
Meaning: the Supreme is not limited to forms at all; it is infinite.

This completes verse 9.

Verse 10

This repeats the same idea using air instead of fire.

“Just as the one air, entering the world, takes on forms according to where it enters, so the one inner Self takes on multiple appearances—and is also beyond them.”

Air is one, but:

– The air in outer space looks one way.
– The air functioning inside the human body appears in another way.

The Self is likewise one but appears differently according to the form.
Again the word bahihi is used—He is also limitless.

This completes verse 10.

Verse 11

“Just as the sun, the eye of the whole world, is untouched by the defects of the eyes of those who look at it, so the one inner Self in all beings is untouched by the sorrows of the world, though dwelling in all.”

Here a different point is made:
The Supreme is untouched by anything.

If someone has a defect in their vision and looks at the sun, the sun doesn’t become defective. The defect is in the person’s eye, not in the sun.

Similarly:

– In every being the Self is present.
– But the impurities and sorrows of the mind do not touch the Self.
– The mind becomes tainted when it identifies with the body, but the Self remains pure, untouched, unaffected.

Just as the sun is not stained by our eye’s defects, the inner Self is not stained by our mental suffering.

This is verse 11.

Verse 12

“One inner controller, the one ruler within all beings, takes on many forms. Only those who constantly perceive that inner Self attain the eternal, unmoving bliss—not others.”

The earlier verses explained how the Supreme appears in countless forms.
Here another point is added:

It must be seen.

Not only understood, not only remembered, but actually seen—
meaning: kept in awareness at every moment.

Ordinary people look only at the body.
A wise person looks at the invisible, formless, inner presence that animates the body.

How is this “seeing” done?

– Through the eyes of mind and intellect, as the Gita says.
– And even more subtly, through the state of sakṣī-bhāva—witness-consciousness.

The one who remains as the witness, seeing the inner presence at each moment, alone experiences the true, steady bliss (ānanda).
Others do not.

This is verse 12.

Verse 13

“He who is the eternal among the eternals, the conscious among all that is conscious, and who, though one, fulfills the desires of the many—only those who see Him within attain lasting peace; others do not.”

This repeats the same truth as verse 12.

But here the first line highlights the Supreme’s uniqueness:

– He is not merely eternal—He is the Eternal among all eternals.
– Not merely conscious—He is the Consciousness behind all consciousness.
– He is indescribable, beyond any word we use.

Again the teaching:
Only those who constantly see Him within attain the lasting, unbroken peace—not others.

This completes verse 13.

Verse 14

Now there is a shift. The discussion becomes slightly different.

Nachiketa asks:

“That indescribable supreme bliss—that itself is the Supreme, as the wise say. But how am I to understand it? Does it shine outwardly, or does it shine inwardly as an experience?”

Here “shine” means either an outer illumination or an inner revelation.

Nachiketa is essentially asking:

– Does the Supreme appear outwardly?
– Or is it inwardly experienced as illumination?

Verse 15

Yama replies:

“There the sun does not shine, nor the moon, nor the stars. Lightning does not shine there, nor this fire. Everything shines only by His shining. By His light alone does all this shine.”

Yama answers:

– The sun’s shine is not its own; it shines because of the Supreme within it.
– The moon shines because of the same presence inside it.
– The stars, lightning, fire—all shine by that same light.

So the Supreme shines both:

– inwardly
– and outwardly

Because whatever light we see anywhere is actually His light.

All illumination—inner or outer—is only the expression of that one Presence.

Yama concludes that this is the very luminous principle Nachiketa asked about.

With this, the second Valli of the second chapter ends.