Kathopanishad - Chapter 2, Valli 2 - English

kaṭhōpaniṣat adhyāya 2, vallī 2, is one of the most luminous non-dual sections in all Upanishadic literature. It gathers contemplative psychology, cosmology, metaphysics, and direct brahma-vidyā into a tightly woven progression. Its recurring refrain - ētadvai tat - repeatedly points the seeker back to one reality behind all appearances.

Adi Shankaracharya's bhāṣya treats this vallī as decisive for recognizing the Self as unaffected witness and all-pervading basis. Its method is subtle: not world-denial, but world-dependence; not ego-immortality, but freedom from misidentification with the perishable.

adhyāya 2
vallī 2

Translation (bhāvārtha):
This is Katha Upanishad chapter 2, section 2, the section that establishes the non-dual expansion through city-of-eleven-gates, life-principle, and all-pervasive Self imagery.

puramēkādaśadvāramajasyāvakrachētasaḥ।
anuṣṭhāya na śōchati vimuktaścha vimuchyatē। ētadvai tat‌ ॥1॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
This body is like an eleven-gated city in which the unborn, straight-awareness Self abides. One who realizes and abides in this does not grieve; being free, one is fully liberated. This indeed is That.

haṃsaḥ śuchiṣadvasurāntarikṣasaddhōtā vēdiṣadatithirdurōṇasat‌।
nṛṣadvarasadṛtasadvyōmasadabjā gōjā ṛtajā adrijā ṛtaṃ bṛhat‌ ॥2॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
That one reality appears as the pure radiant principle, as life in the mid-region, as sacred fire at the altar, as honored guest in the home, as presence in humans, gods, cosmic order, and space - manifesting through waters, earth, law, and mountains: the vast truth.

ūrdhvaṃ prāṇamunnayatyapānaṃ pratyagasyati।
madhyē vāmanamāsīnaṃ viśvē dēvā upāsatē ॥3॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
That central indwelling principle governs the upward and downward vital forces; seated in the center, it is that which all functional powers (deities) revere.

asya visraṃsamānasya śarīrasthasya dēhinaḥ।
dēhādvimuchyamānasya kimatra pariśiṣyatē। ētadvai tat‌ ॥4॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
When the embodied frame disintegrates and the indwelling principle is released from the body, what truly remains? That remainder, the real, is this indeed That.

na prāṇēna nāpānēna martyō jīvati kaśchana।
itarēṇa tu jīvanti yasminnētāvupāśritau ॥5॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
No one truly lives by vital forces alone; life is sustained by that deeper principle in which even breath and vitality are grounded.

hanta ta idaṃ pravakṣyāmi guhyaṃ brahma sanātanam‌।
yathā cha maraṇaṃ prāpya ātmā bhavati gautama ॥6॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
Now I shall teach you the eternal secret of Brahman, and also what becomes of the embodied self after death, O Gautama.

yōnimanyē prapadyantē śarīratvāya dēhinaḥ।
sthāṇumanyē'nusaṃyanti yathākarma yathāśrutam‌ ॥7॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
Some embodied beings enter wombs for further birth; others move into more fixed states - according to their actions and the quality of their understanding.

ya ēṣa suptēṣu jāgarti kāmaṃ kāmaṃ puruṣō nirmimāṇaḥ।
tadēva śukraṃ tad brahma tadēvāmṛtamuchyatē।
tasmiṃllōkāḥ śritāḥ sarvē tadu nātyēti kaśchana। ētadvai tat‌ ॥8॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
That which remains awake even when beings sleep, shaping experience according to tendencies - that alone is the pure luminous reality, that is Brahman, that is the immortal; all worlds rest in That, and none goes beyond it. This indeed is That.

agniryathaikō bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭō rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpō babhūva।
ēkastathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpō bahiścha ॥9॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
Just as one fire, entering the world, appears differently according to each fuel-form, so the one inner Self appears in diverse forms within all beings (and as though externally too).

vāyuryathaikō bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭō rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpō babhūva।
ēkastathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpō bahiścha ॥10॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
As one air, entering the world, appears in different modes according to different forms, so the one inner Self appears as manifold through diverse embodiments.

sūryō yathā sarvalōkasya chakṣurna lipyatē chākṣuṣairbahyidōṣaiḥ।
ēkastathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā na lipyatē lōkaduḥkhēna bāhyaḥ ॥11॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
As the sun, eye of the world, is not tainted by defects in the eyes that see it, so the one inner Self in all beings is not tainted by the world's suffering, being beyond it.

ēkō vaśī sarvabhūtāntarātmā ēkaṃ rūpaṃ bahudhā yaḥ karōti।
tamātmasthaṃ yē'nupaśyanti dhīrāstēṣāṃ sukhaṃ śāśvataṃ nētarēṣām‌ ॥12॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
The one indwelling Self, sovereign in all beings, appears as many though one. Those discerning ones who see That established within themselves attain enduring happiness - not others.

nityō'nityānāṃ chētanaśchētanānāmēkō bahūnāṃ yō vidadhāti kāmān‌।
tamātmasthaṃ yē'nupaśyanti dhīrāstēṣāṃ śāntiḥ śāśvatī nētarēṣām‌ ॥13॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
The one eternal among the non-eternal, the one consciousness among conscious beings, who sustains the many - those wise who see That established in themselves attain lasting peace, not others.

tadētaditi manyantē'nirdēśyaṃ paramaṃ sukham‌।
kathaṃ nu tadvijānīyāṃ kimu bhāti vibhāti vā ॥14॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
They declare that to be the indefinable supreme bliss. How may I truly know It? Does It shine by itself, or by some other light?

na tatra sūryō bhāti na chandratārakaṃ nēmā vidyutō bhānti kutō'yamagniḥ।
tamēva bhāntamanubhāti sarvaṃ tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṃ vibhāti ॥15॥

Translation (bhāvārtha):
There the sun does not shine, nor moon nor stars, nor lightning - what then of earthly fire? Everything shines only after That shines; by Its light alone all this is illumined.

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