Katha Upanishad

The Katha Upanishad (Sanskrit: कठोपनिषद् or कठ उपनिषद्) (Kaṭhopaniṣad) is an ancient Hindu text and one of the mukhya (primary) Upanishads, embedded in the last eight short sections of the Kaṭha school of the Krishna Yajurveda.^[1]^[2] It is also known as Kāṭhaka Upanishad, and is listed as number 3 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.

The Katha Upanishad consists of two chapters (Adhyāyas), each divided into three sections (Vallis). The first Adhyaya is considered to be of older origin than the second.^[2] The Upanishad has the legendary story of a little boy, Nachiketa – the son of Sage Vajasravasa, who meets Yama (the deity of death). Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge, Atman (Self) and moksha (liberation).^[2]

The chronology of Katha Upanishad is unclear and contested, but it is generally considered to belong to the later Upanishads, dated to the 5th^[3]^[4] to first centuries BCE.^[5]

The Kathaka Upanishad is an important ancient Sanskrit corpus of the Vedanta sub-schools, and an influential Śruti to the diverse schools of Hinduism. It asserts that "Atman (Self) exists", teaches the precept "seek Self-knowledge, which is Highest Bliss", and expounds on this premise like the other primary Upanishads of Hinduism. The detailed teachings of Katha Upanishad have been variously interpreted, as Dvaita (dualistic)^[6] and as Advaita (non-dualistic).^[7]^[8]^[9]

It is among the most widely studied Upanishads. Katha Upanishad was translated into Persian in 17th century, copies of which were then translated into Latin and distributed in Europe.^[10] Other philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer praised it, Edwin Arnold rendered it in verse as "The Secret of Death", and Ralph Waldo Emerson credited Katha Upanishad for the central story at the end of his essay Immortality, as well as his poem "Brahma".^[7]^[11]

^ Johnston, Charles (1920-1931). The Mukhya Upanishads. Kshetra Books. ISBN 9781495946530 (Reprinted in 2014).
^ ^a ^b ^c Paul Deussen. Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-8120814684. pages 269-273
^ Cite error: The named reference King_1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Basham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Olivelle 1996, p. xxxvii.
^ Ariel Glucklich (2008), The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-531405-2, page 70, Quote: "The Upanishadic age was also characterized by a pluralism of worldviews. While some Upanishads have been deemed 'monistic', others, including the Katha Upanishad, are dualistic. Monism holds that reality is one – Brahman – and that all multiplicity (matter, individual Selfs) is ultimately reducible to that one reality. The Katha Upanishad, a relatively late text of the Black Yajurveda, is more complex. It teaches Brahman, like other Upanishads, but it also states that above the 'unmanifest' (Brahman) stands Purusha, or 'Person'. This claim originated in Samkhya (analysis) philosophy, which split all of reality into two coeternal principles: spirit (purusha) and primordial matrix (prakriti)."
^ ^a ^b SH Nasr (1989), Knowledge and the Sacred: Revisioning Academic Accountability, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791401767, page 99, Quote: "Emerson was especially inebriated by the message of the Upanishads, whose nondualistic doctrine contained so lucidly in the Katha Upanishad, is reflected in his well known poem Brahma".
^ Kathopanishad, in The Katha and Prasna Upanishads with Sri Shankara's Commentary, Translated by SS Sastri, Harvard College Archives, pages 1-3
^ Olivelle 1996, p. Introduction Chapter.
^ Philip Renard (1995), Historical bibliography of Upanishads in translation, Journal of Indian philosophy, vol 23, issue 2, pages 223-246
^ R White (2010), Schopenhauer and Indian Philosophy, International Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 50, issue 1, pages 57-76

[1] Johnston, Charles (1920-1931). The Mukhya Upanishads. Kshetra Books. ISBN 9781495946530 (Reprinted in 2014).

[pauldeussenintro-2] Paul Deussen. Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-8120814684. pages 269-273

[King_1995-3] Cite error: The named reference King_1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Basham-4] Cite error: The named reference Basham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEOlivelle1996xxxvii-5] Olivelle 1996, p. xxxvii.

[6] Ariel Glucklich (2008), The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-531405-2, page 70, Quote: "The Upanishadic age was also characterized by a pluralism of worldviews. While some Upanishads have been deemed 'monistic', others, including the Katha Upanishad, are dualistic. Monism holds that reality is one – Brahman – and that all multiplicity (matter, individual Selfs) is ultimately reducible to that one reality. The Katha Upanishad, a relatively late text of the Black Yajurveda, is more complex. It teaches Brahman, like other Upanishads, but it also states that above the 'unmanifest' (Brahman) stands Purusha, or 'Person'. This claim originated in Samkhya (analysis) philosophy, which split all of reality into two coeternal principles: spirit (purusha) and primordial matrix (prakriti)."

[shnasr-7] SH Nasr (1989), Knowledge and the Sacred: Revisioning Academic Accountability, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791401767, page 99, Quote: "Emerson was especially inebriated by the message of the Upanishads, whose nondualistic doctrine contained so lucidly in the Katha Upanishad, is reflected in his well known poem Brahma".

[8] Kathopanishad, in The Katha and Prasna Upanishads with Sri Shankara's Commentary, Translated by SS Sastri, Harvard College Archives, pages 1-3

[FOOTNOTEOlivelle1996Introduction_Chapter-9] Olivelle 1996, p. Introduction Chapter.

[10] Philip Renard (1995), Historical bibliography of Upanishads in translation, Journal of Indian philosophy, vol 23, issue 2, pages 223-246

[11] R White (2010), Schopenhauer and Indian Philosophy, International Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 50, issue 1, pages 57-76

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