Many of us are so busy that we hardly have any time to die ;-) But death and tax spare none.
Though it is difficult to prove that death is inevitable, that happens to be one of the truths all of us seem to accept. We all die one day. What happens when that inevitable thing finally comes about? Have you ever wondered?
The boy Nachiketa in our today’s story did exactly that. He was a small boy, too young to think about death. And he finally got the answer to his question from none other than the Lord of death himself!
Let us first get into the story.
There was a Brahmin by name Gautama who hailed from a well known family of donors. They were such great donors that their family was called Vajashrava - meaning great donors.
But Gautama was a miserly man unlike his forefathers.
Gautama once conducted a Vedic ritual called Vishvajit with the intent of acquiring worldly riches. At the end of the ritual, Gautama was supposed to donate whatever he could, to the priests who officiated the ritual and others who attended.
But, Gautama being miserly, did not wish to part with good things he had. So he donated old and barren cattle to the priests at the end of the ritual, just to fulfill the requirements.
But his young son Nachiketa did not like this act of his father. He felt
If his father does not keep his word, it will amount to lying. A Brahmin is not supposed to do that. So Nachiketa wanted to keep his father’s word, though it was a callous remark on the part of his father.
Nachiketa finally marched to the world of Yama – the Lord of death.
But Yama was not around at that time. He had gone out somewhere. Nachiketa waited at the Yama’s door for three days.
When Yama finally returned, he was quite upset that a boy was kept waiting for three days – probably without food or drink. So, he offered Nachiketa food and drink and apologized for keeping him waiting.
Yama also offered to Nachiketa a boon to amend his mistake.
It was an open offer. Nachiketa could have asked for anything. After all, it was the Lord of death who was making that offer!
What did Nachiketa ask for ?
We will see that in the next episode.
Let us first get into the story.
But Gautama was a miserly man unlike his forefathers.
Gautama once conducted a Vedic ritual called Vishvajit with the intent of acquiring worldly riches. At the end of the ritual, Gautama was supposed to donate whatever he could, to the priests who officiated the ritual and others who attended.
But, Gautama being miserly, did not wish to part with good things he had. So he donated old and barren cattle to the priests at the end of the ritual, just to fulfill the requirements.
But his young son Nachiketa did not like this act of his father. He felt
“Why is dad donating these useless animals? Does he not know that doing such an act can cause him harm?”Nachiketa was quite upset and he retorted to his father by saying
“Why don’t you donate me instead? May be that would be more useful!”Gautama could not stand his son’s criticism. He became so furious with Nachiketa, that he said
“OK. I will donate you to Yama - the Lord of Death!”Nachiketa did not like his father’s reply. But father has made a comment, though unwittingly. But a word once uttered cannot be taken back.
If his father does not keep his word, it will amount to lying. A Brahmin is not supposed to do that. So Nachiketa wanted to keep his father’s word, though it was a callous remark on the part of his father.
Nachiketa finally marched to the world of Yama – the Lord of death.
But Yama was not around at that time. He had gone out somewhere. Nachiketa waited at the Yama’s door for three days.
When Yama finally returned, he was quite upset that a boy was kept waiting for three days – probably without food or drink. So, he offered Nachiketa food and drink and apologized for keeping him waiting.
Yama also offered to Nachiketa a boon to amend his mistake.
It was an open offer. Nachiketa could have asked for anything. After all, it was the Lord of death who was making that offer!
What did Nachiketa ask for ?
We will see that in the next episode.
A
story of Nachiketa from Katha Upanishad, which is part of Yajur
Veda. Upanishads are concluding parts of ancient Indian Vedic
scriptures believed to be at least 5000 years old. The
interpretation is by Dr.King (Copyright © 2019 Dr. King).
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