Nachiketa: The Boy Who Questioned Death

During a ritual where one was supposed to give away their most prized possessions, the sage Vajasravasa was hypocritically donating old, barren cows. His young son, Nachiketa, seeking to save his father's soul from the sin of false charity, asked persistently, 'Father, to whom will you give me?'

Irritated, his father snapped, 'I give you to Yama, the Lord of Death!'

Honoring his father's word, Nachiketa traveled to the realm of Death. But Yama was away. The young boy sat at the gates of the underworld, without food or water, for three days and three nights. When Yama returned, he was shocked that a Brahmin guest had been neglected. To make amends, Yama offered the boy three boons.

For his first two boons, Nachiketa asked for peace for his father and the knowledge of a sacred fire ritual. For his third boon, he asked the ultimate question: 'When a person dies, some say he still exists; others say he ceases to be. O Death, tell me the truth. What is the nature of the Self?'

Yama tested the boy, offering him immense wealth, celestial dancers, chariots, and a lifespan of hundreds of years instead. 'Do not ask about death, Nachiketa! Take the wealth!'

But Nachiketa refused. 'All wealth perishes. Life, however long, ends. Keep your dancers and chariots. I want only the knowledge of the Eternal.'

Pleased by his supreme dispassion and piercing intellect, Yama revealed the profound teachings of the Katha Upanishad: The Atman (soul) is never born and never dies. It is the eternal witness, subtler than the subtle, greater than the great. Knowing this, one is freed from the jaws of death forever.