Nachiketa
Topic: The Vedic Age · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 7 "India's Cultural Roots"
Meaning
Nachiketa is the boy at the centre of the Katha Upaniṣhad. He went to Yama, the god of death, and kept asking what happens to a person after death. Through his questions, Yama taught that the self (ātman) is never born and never dies. Nachiketa stands for the Upanishadic idea that a sincere question is valuable, even when it comes from a child.
Example
Nachiketa's father angrily said he would give his son to Death, so Nachiketa went to Yama's home. Yama offered him wealth, long life and pleasures instead of an answer. Nachiketa refused them all and repeated his question until Yama taught him that the ātman is immortal.
Don't confuse with
- Śhvetaketu: He is another young learner in the Upaniṣhads. He appears in the Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad and learns "You are That" from his father, Uddālaka Āruṇi. He is not the boy who met Yama.
Related concepts
- Upanishads
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
- Chandogya Upanishad
- Uddalaka Aruni
- Tat tvam asi
- Katha Upanishad
- Mundaka Upanishad
- Satyameva Jayate
- Atman
- Brahman