Naciketas: the boy who was given to Death
उशन् ह वै वाजश्रवसः सर्ववेदसं ददौ । तस्य ह नचिकेता नाम पुत्र आस ॥
तँ ह कुमारँ सन्तं दक्षिणासु नीयमानासु श्रद्धाविवेश सोऽमन्यत ॥
पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः । अनन्दा नाम ते लोकास्तान् स गच्छति ता ददत् ॥
स होवाच पितरं तत कस्मै मां दास्यसीति । द्वितीयं तृतीयं तँ होवाच मृत्यवे त्वा ददामीति ॥
uśan ha vai vājaśravasaḥ sarvavedasaṃ dadau | tasya ha naciketā nāma putra āsa ||
tam̐ ha kumāram̐ santaṃ dakṣiṇāsu nīyamānāsu śraddhāviveśa so'manyata ||
pītodakā jagdhatṛṇā dugdhadohā nirindriyāḥ | anandā nāma te lokāstān sa gacchati tā dadat ||
sa hovāca pitaraṃ tata kasmai māṃ dāsyasīti | dvitīyaṃ tṛtīyaṃ tam̐ hovāca mṛtyave tvā dadāmīti ||
Translation
Eager for the reward, Vājaśravasa gave away all he owned. He had a son named Naciketas. Though he was only a boy, as the cows were being led away as gifts, faith entered him, and he thought: "They have drunk their last water, eaten their last grass, been milked dry, they can no longer calve: joyless are the worlds he goes to who gives such cows." He said to his father: "Father, to whom will you give me?" A second time, a third time. To him the father said: "To Death I give you!"
The story
Kaṭha Upaniṣad, chapter 1. Vājaśravasa performs a sacrifice in which a man gives away everything he owns, but he gives worn-out cows. His young son Naciketas sees the hypocrisy and, to make the gift complete, asks to whom he himself will be given. Asked three times, the father snaps: "To Death!"
Naciketas goes to the house of Yama, the god of death, who is away. He waits three nights without food. To make amends, Yama offers him three boons. Naciketas asks that his father be at peace with him, then for the knowledge of a fire ritual that leads to heaven, and finally: what happens to a person after death? Yama tries to buy him off with long life, wealth, horses and dancers, but Naciketas refuses: "Keep your horses." Pleased with him, Death teaches him about the self that is not born and does not die.
Meaning
The Kaṭha Upaniṣad is one of the most dramatic Upaniṣads, and its opening is a real story with a child at its centre. The boy's question is innocent and sharp at once: if you give away everything, I am yours to give too.
The four verses mix prose and verse, and the third is a short, cutting description of useless cows built from four compounds: pītodakāḥ, jagdhatṛṇāḥ, dugdhadohāḥ, nirindriyāḥ.
Word by word · 15 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| उशन् | uśan | wishing, eager (for the reward) (nom. sg. m., present participle of √vaś) |
| वाजश्रवसः | vājaśravasaḥ | Vājaśravasa, the father (nom. sg. m.) |
| सर्ववेदसम् | sarvavedasam | all his possessions (acc. sg.), i.e. in the sacrifice where one gives away everything |
| ददौ | dadau | gave (perfect 3rd sg. of √dā) |
| नचिकेताः | naciketāḥ | Naciketas (nom. sg. m.) |
| कुमारम् | kumāram | a boy (acc. sg. m.) |
| दक्षिणासु नीयमानासु | dakṣiṇāsu nīyamānāsu | while the gifts (the cows) were being led away (loc. absolute) |
| श्रद्धा | śraddhā | faith, conviction (nom. sg. f.) |
| आविवेश | āviveśa | entered (perfect 3rd sg. of ā + √viś) |
| पीतोदकाः | pītodakāḥ | who have drunk their (last) water (nom. pl. f.) |
| निरिन्द्रियाः | nirindriyāḥ | barren, past calving (nom. pl. f.) |
| अनन्दाः | anandāḥ | joyless (nom. pl. m.) |
| तत | tata | father! (voc.) |
| कस्मै | kasmai | to whom? (dat. sg.) |
| मृत्यवे | mṛtyave | to Death (dat. sg. m.) |
Pronunciation
sa hovāca pitaraṃ tata kasmai māṃ dāsyasīti |
dvitīyaṃ tṛtīyaṃ tam̐ hovāca mṛtyave tvā dadāmīti ||
Syllables are given for verse 4.
- naciketā: c is "ch": na-chi-ke-tā.
- mṛtyave: mṛt-ya-ve, with the vowel ṛ.
- ṛ is a vowel, a short syllabic r (like the "ri" in "rhythm" said quickly): mṛ-tyu, not mar-tyu.
- A final visarga ḥ is a soft "h" breath that echoes the vowel before it: namaḥ sounds like "nama-ha" (lightly).