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KATHA-UPANISHAD.
FIRST ADHYAYA.
FIRST VALLİ.
I. VÂGASRAVASA1, desirous (of heavenly rewards), surrendered (at a sacrifice) all that he possessed. He had a son of the name of Nakiketas.
2. When the (promised) presents were being given (to the priests), faith entered into the heart of Nakiketas, who was still a boy, and he thought:
3. 'Unblessed 2, surely, are the worlds to which a man goes by giving (as his promised present at a sacrifice) cows which have drunk water, eaten hay, given their milk, and are barren.'
4. He (knowing that his father had promised to give up all that he possessed, and therefore his son also) said to his father: 'Dear father, to whom wilt thou give me?'
1 Vagasravasa is called Âruzi Auddâlaki Gautama, the father of Nakiketas. The father of Svetaketu, another enlightened pupil (see Khând. Up. VI, 1, 1), is also called Âruni (Uddâlaka, comm. Kaush. Up. I, 1) Gautama. Svetaketu himself is called Âruneya, i. e. the son of Aruzi, the grandson of Aruna, and likewise Auddâlaki. Auddâlaki is a son of Uddâlaka, but Sankara (Kâth. Up. I, 11) takes Auddâlaki as possibly the same as Uddâlaka. See Brih. Âr. Up. III, 6, 1.
As to ǎnanda, unblessed, see Brih. Ar. Up. IV, 4, 11; Vâgas. Samh. Up. 3 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. i, p. 311).
Ânandagiri explains that the cows meant here are cows no longer able to drink, to eat, to give milk, and to calve.
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