📜sruti
Katha Upanishad
कठोपनिषद्
Author: Vedic Risis (Krishna Yajurveda) • Period: c. 6th - 5th Century BCE
Belonging to the Katha school of the Krishna Yajurveda, this Upanishad is famed for the famous chariot metaphor (the body as a chariot, intellect as charioteer, mind as reins, senses as horses) and the stark distinction between Shreyas (the good) and Preyas (the pleasant).
Key Doctrinal Highlights
✦The choice between Shreyas (spiritual good) and Preyas (fleeting pleasure)
✦The Chariot allegory describing self-mastery
✦The eternal Atman: subtler than the subtle, greater than the great
✦Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is reached (Uttishthata Jagrata)
📚Chapters & Contents (अध्यायाः)
2 Chapters Available1
First Adhyaya: The Three Boons & The Secret
71 Versesप्रथमोऽध्यायः
Nachiketa enters the abode of Yama and rejects all worldly riches to ask the supreme question: What happens to the soul after death?
2
Second Adhyaya: The Secret of Immortality
48 Versesद्वितीयोऽध्यायः
Yama reveals the secret of Yoga, the untying of the knots of the heart, and the realization of the deathless Self.