Nachiketa and the Three Boons

Long ago, there lived a rishi named Vajashrava. Once he held a great yagya in which a person gives away everything he has. His son Nachiketa was young, but very wise.

Nachiketa noticed that the cows his father was giving away were very old and weak. They could no longer eat grass or give milk. Nachiketa thought, "A gift like this will not help anyone." He asked his father respectfully, "Father, to whom will you give me?" His father did not answer. He asked a second time, and then a third time. Then his father snapped, "I give you to Yamraj!"

Nachiketa thought, "Father's words must not turn out to be false." So he went to the land of Yamraj. Yamraj was not at home. For three days and three nights, Nachiketa sat patiently at his door without food or water.

When Yamraj returned, he was very sorry that a young guest at his home had gone hungry for three days. He said, "Child, for the three nights you waited, ask me for three boons."

For the first boon, Nachiketa said, "May my father's mind be at peace, and when I go home, may he know me and welcome me with love." Yamraj said, "So it shall be."

For the second boon, Nachiketa asked how to perform the sacred fire ritual that the rishis spoke of. Yamraj taught him all of it. Nachiketa heard it once and repeated every step correctly. Yamraj was so pleased that he said, "From today, this fire will be called by your name, the Nachiketa fire."

For the third boon, Nachiketa asked the deepest question of all: "What happens when a person's life is complete? Is there something inside us that never ends?"

Yamraj tested him. "Do not ask this," he said. "Instead, take a long life. Take gold, horses and elephants, a great kingdom, music and song." But Nachiketa folded his hands and said, "All these things last only a short while. Please keep them. I only want true knowledge."

Seeing how sincere he was, Yamraj was very pleased. He explained, "There are two paths in life. One feels nice right now. The other is truly good. A wise person chooses the good path. And listen: the soul inside us is never born and never dies. The body changes, but the soul always is."

Nachiketa went home with this precious knowledge. Just as Yamraj had promised, his father hugged him with love. The story of young Nachiketa is still read today in the Katha Upanishad.