Katha Upanishad — Chapter 1: Adhyaya 1, Valli 1: Nachiketa and Death

10 verses

Verse 1

Vajashravasa, desirous of reward, gave away all his possessions. He had a son named Nachiketa.

Verse 2

When the gifts were being distributed, faith entered the boy, still a youth. He thought:

Verse 3

'These cows have drunk their last water, eaten their last grass, given their last milk, and are spent. Joyless are the worlds to which he goes who gi…

Verse 4

He said to his father: 'Father, to whom will you give me?' He asked a second and a third time. The father said: 'To Death I give you!'

Verse 5

Nachiketa thought: 'Among many I go as the first; among many I go as the middle. What duty of Yama will he accomplish through me today?'