Nachiketa & Yamraja

A Dialogue with the God of Death

Vajashravas was a sage. Once, he decided to perform a great sacrifice in which he wanted to give away all that he had. He had a son by the name Nachiketa who was still a boy but extremely intelligent and very pure in mind and heart. He saw that his father was giving away the lean and weak cows that were unable to give milk. My father is not doing the right thing by giving the old cows in charity, said Nachiketa to himself so he went near his father and asked, “Father, I have heard that the kind of Yajna that you are performing, one has to give up all that one possesses. This being the case to whom will you give me?” Vajashravas did not give any reply. After some time Nachiketa asked again the same question, but in vain. He did not get any response from his father. Again for the third time, Nachiketa repeated the same question. Vajashravas could not control his temper; he burst out saying to his own son, “I will give you Yama, the God of Death.”

Nachiketa followed the words of his father and went to the kingdom of Death. However, during that time Yama was not present. None dared to admit Nachiketa. So he waited near the gate for three days and three nights without taking even a drop of water. When Yama returned and found Nachiketa at his doorstep he felt sad for keeping a Brahmin waiting for three days and three nights. He ordered his attendants to fetch holy water to invite and welcome Nachiketa. After the hospitality offered to Nachiketa, Yama told Nachiketa, “Dear child, I have not done good by keeping you waiting for three days. So I request you to ask for three boons.”

Nachiketa answered to Yama by saying, “O Lord, let my father not be anxious about me, and let his anger against me vanish. When I go back to earth, let him recognize me and receive me back gladly.”

“Granted son,” said Yama. “Ask your second boon.”

“Dear Sir, teach me the proper ritual for the fire sacrifice. This I ask for my second boon” said Nachiketa.

Yama agreed and taught Nachiketa the proper ritual for the fire sacrifice. Then he said, “Nachiketa, what is your third boon?”

Nachiketa said, “Is there indeed a life beyond death? Some say there is; others say life ends with this life. What is the truth?”

Yama said, “Boy, do not ask me about matters of life and death. Even the gods are not clear on all points. Ask me something else. I will grant all your wishes other than this.”

Nachiketa persisted and said, “O Yama, I only wish to know about the mysteries of life and death, and nothing else.”

Yama tries to offer Nachiketa worldly pleasures so that he may change the nature of his request for the third boon, but Nachiketa insists by stating that all the worldly pleasures are short-lived and do not render long lasting happiness. Nachiketa was bold enough saying that one can never reach the eternal through the worldly possessions. Therefore he has renounced all desires for worldly pleasures and have come here with the hope of wining the Eternal through the instructions of the God of Death.

It was too difficult for Yama to change the mind of young Nachiketa. So finally, he agreed to tell Nachiketa about the mysteries of life and death with the following words:

“The Self is immortal. It was not born, nor does it die. It did not come out of anything, neither did anything came out of it. Even if this body is destroyed, the soul is not destroyed.”

“The one who thinks that he is the slayer and the one who thinks that he is slain, both are ignorant. For the Self neither slays nor is it slain.”

“Smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest, the Self is living in all beings.”

“The knowledge about it can neither be obtained by discussion, nor by brain power, nor even by much learning. It reveals itself to the deserving one.”

“This body is the chariot, intelligence the driver, the senses are the horses, conscience the rein and the soul is the lord of the chariot. The Self is superior to body, mind and senses.

“Greater than the individual soul is the enveloping super consciousness, the seed of everything in the universe, still greater is the Ultimate Person than whom there is nothing greater. He is the goal of our aspiration. Once That (Supreme Self) is realized, death loses all its terrors, and the one who has realized becomes immortal.

“The path to realization is long and difficult, like the razor’s edge, narrow and sharp. Therefore there is no time to be lost. Awake, arise, bestir yourself, and do not stop until the goal is reached.”