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Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.1

The Upanishads, Part II (SBE 15) 1.3.1

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1.3.1

'There are the two, drinking their reward in the world of their own works, entered into the cave (of the heart), dwelling on the highest summit (the ether in the heart). Those who know Brahman call them shade and light; likewise, those householders who perform the Trinâkiketa sacrifice.'

1.3.1.n1

The two are explained as the higher and lower Brahman, the former being the light, the latter the shadow. Rita is explained as reward, and connected with sukrita, lit. good deeds, but frequently used in the sense of svakrita, one's own good and evil deeds. The difficulty is, how the highest Brahman can be said to drink the reward (ritapa) of former deeds, as it is above all works and above all rewards. The commentator explains it away as a metaphorical expression, as we often speak of many, when we mean one. (Cf. Mund. Up. III, 1, 1.) I have joined sukritasya with loke, loka meaning the world, i.e. the state, the environment, which we made to ourselves by our former deeds.

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