May He protect both of us together. May He nourish both of us together. May we work together with great energy. May our study be enlightening. May we not hate one another.

Om. Peace, peace, peace.

Desiring (reward), indeed, Vājashravasa gave away all his possessions. He had a son named Nachiketas. As the boy saw the gifts being carried away, 'śraddhā', i.e. honest-interest arose in him.

Those who give cows whose water has been drunk, grass eaten, milk drawn, and who are feeble—go to the joyless realms known by that name.

He said to his father, “O father, to whom will you give me?” A second time, and a third time he asked. To him, he said, “To Death I give you.”

I am the first among many; I am the middle among many. What indeed is the duty of Yama that I shall perform today?

Observe how the former ones passed and likewise see the latter. Like grain, the mortal ripens and is cooked; like grain, he is born again.

The Brāhmaṇa, the fiery one, enters as a guest — into homes. To him they offer this peace — bring water for Vaivasvata, the son of the radiant one.

Hope, expectation, companionship, pleasant speech, sacrificial and charitable acts, sons and cattle — all these deprive a man of little understanding, in whose house a Brāhmaṇa dwells unfed.

You, O Brāhmaṇa, the revered guest, have stayed in my house unfed for three nights. O Brāhmaṇa, let there be salutations to you and well-being for me. Therefore, ask three boons in return.

May Gautama, of peaceful resolve and cheerful mind, free from anger, be not harsh toward me, O Death, nor reproach me as having been sent by you. Assured of this, I choose this as the first of the three boons.

As it shall be, assuredly, that Uddālaka Āruṇi will peacefully sleep through the nights, free from anger, having sent forth by me, found and seen you released from the jaws of death.

In the heavenly world, there is no fear of any kind; there, you are not afflicted by old age. Having crossed both hunger and thirst, one who has transcended sorrow rejoices in the heavenly world.

O Death, you know that heavenly fire; tell it to me, who is faithful. The heavenly worlds attain immortality through it. This I choose as my second boon.

To you I declare—do learn this from me, O Naciketas, the heavenly fire, understanding which one attains infinite worlds and the firm foundation. Know this, placed within the secret cave (of the heart).

He explained to him the primeval fire of the worlds—what kind of bricks, how many, and how they are to be arranged. And he (Naciketas) too replied exactly as instructed. Then Death, being pleased, again spoke to him.

The great soul, being pleased, said to him: “Here today I grant you another boon. This fire shall be known by your name alone. Take this jewellery chain of intricate forms.”

He who performs the threefold Nāciketa fire, having touched by threefold means, and the threefold actions, having approached and known the praiseworthy God who knows Brahman, crosses over birth and death, and, having rightly established this, attains supreme peace.

He who, knowing this threefold Naciketa fire, wisely chooses it — he casts off the nooses of death, transcends sorrow, and rejoices in the heavenly world.

This is the fire (ritual), O Naciketas, that leads to heaven, which you have chosen as your second boon. This fire shall be declared by people as yours indeed. Now choose the third boon, O Naciketas.

This is the doubt that arises in a person after death: some say IT exists, others say IT does not. I seek to be instructed by you in this knowledge. This is the third boon I have chosen.

This subtle dharma was once doubted even by the gods; it is not easily understood. Choose another boon, O Naciketas. Do not press me further — do not compel me thus.

This was indeed doubted even by the gods, O Death, and you have said it is not easily understood. No one like you can speak of it, and no other boon is equal to this one.

Choose sons and grandsons who live a hundred years, many cattle, elephants, gold, and horses. Choose a great domain of the earth and live yourself as many years as you desire.

If you consider any boon equal to this, choose wealth and a long life. O Naciketas, be established over a great domain; I make you the enjoyer of all desires.

Whatever rare desires exist in the mortal world, ask for all of them freely. Here are celestial maidens with chariots and music; such are not to be gained by mortals. Enjoy their service, given by me, O Naciketas, but do not inquire about death.

O Death, What is destined to perish tomorrow, this, weakens the brilliance of all the senses of mortals. Even the Life, and all its brilliance, is indeed small. Your chariots, your dance, and even music — keep them for yourself.

A man is not to be satisfied by wealth. We may obtain unseen wealth, we may live as long as you grant. But the boon for me to choose is that alone.

Having approached the undecaying immortals, how could a decaying mortal, knowing (this), being inferior, delight in pleasures of form, gratification, and joy? Who would rejoice in a very long life?

O Death, regarding that great mystery about which people doubt — tell us that. This boon, which is deeply hidden, Naciketas chooses none other than that.

The auspicious is one thing, and the pleasant is another; both with different aims to bind the person. Of them, the one who chooses the auspicious fares well, but he who chooses the pleasant falls away from the goal.

The auspicious and the pleasant approach the person. The wise, having examined them both, discerns between the two. The wise chooses the auspicious over the merely pleasant; the foolish chooses acquisition and preservation instead.

You, O Naciketas, contemplating desirable and pleasing enjoyments, have transcended them. You did not accept this chain made of wealth, in which many human beings sink.

I think Nachiketas, who desires knowledge, has understood that ignorance and knowledge are far apart and opposed, like divergent paths; you have not been tempted by many desires.

Dwelling in ignorance, imagining themselves wise and learned, the deluded ones wander about, staggering, like the blind led by one who is also blind.

The hereafter does not appear to the immature, the deluded who are heedless due to wealth’s illusion; thinking “this world alone exists, there is no other,” such a one falls again and again under my control.

He is not attainable even for hearing by many; many though hearing do not know Him. Wondrous is the speaker of him, skillful the one who attains Him, wondrous the knower, taught by the skillful.

This (ultimate essence) is not well understood when spoken by an inferior man, though contemplated in many ways. There is no understanding here unless spoken by one who is 'ananya', i.e. one who understands the the supreme essence is different and individual being is different; it is subtler than the subtle and beyond reasoning due to its minuteness.

This understanding is not to be attained through mere reasoning. It must be spoken by another, O dearest, for true knowledge. You have attained it, steadfast in truth. Indeed, you are such. O Naciketa, may we have more questioners like you.

I know this permnent treasure to be the lord conveyed by syllable 'A'; for the stable is not attained through the unstable. Therefore, having kindled the Naciketa fire with permanent materials, I have attained the eternal lord conveyed by syllable 'A'.

Naciketa, the steadfast one transcended the attainment of desire and all, having seen - the foundation of the world, the cause of the infinitude of sacrifices, the far shore of fearlessness, one who can't be attained even by full-fledged praises, the widely-sung one.

The steadfast one, having known that divine being — who is difficult to see, hidden, entered within, placed in the cave, abiding within the liberated beings, ancient — through the yoga of the adhyātma, i.e. Yoga regarding the supreme essence, gives up joy and sorrow.

Having heard this and fully grasped it, the mortal rightly discerning the distinction, and attaining this righteous subtle being, rejoices, having obtained the delightful and opened abode of Naciketas, I consider.

Tell me that which you see to be different from dharma, different from adharma, different from made and not-made, and different from the past and future.

I declare to you in brief that goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities proclaim, and desiring which they practice celibacy — it is this: "Om".

This syllable "Om" is indeed Brahman; this syllable is indeed supreme. Knowing this syllable, whatever one desires — that is attained by him.

This support ("Om") is the best; this support ("Om") is supreme. Having known this support ("Om"), one is glorified in the world of Brahman.

The wise one is not born nor does he die; he has not come into being from anywhere, nor did anyone bring him forth. He is unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient; he is not slain even when the body is slain.

If the slayer thinks “I slay,” and the slain thinks “I am slain,” both do not understand. This being neither kills nor is killed.

This essence of being, ātmā, subtler than the atom and greater than the great, is lodged in the heart of the creature. That 'akratuḥ', i.e. person who knowns he in reality is a non-performer, who is free from sorrow, sees through the Creator’s grace, and realizes the glory of the ātmā.

Though seated, he goes far; though lying down, he moves everywhere. Who else is worthy to know that divine one with ego and non-ego other than the one who is beyond ego?

Knowing the great, bodiless, and all-pervading Ātmān as abiding also in unstable bodies - the wise one does not grieve.

This Ātmā is not attainable by discourse, nor by intellect, nor by much hearing. It is attainable only by the one whom It chooses; to him, this Ātmā reveals Its own form.

Not one who is unrestrained in conduct, not one who is unpeaceful or undisciplined, not even one of untranquil mind can attain this knowledge.

For whom both intellect and warrior class become mere food, and death itself a mere seasoning — who knows where such a One dwells?

The knowers of Brahman, the five-fire sacrificers, and those who have thrice performed the Naciketas rite, having entered the cave in the supreme highest quarter say - "The two, shade and heat", are drunk by the performers of ṛtam, i.e. those engaged in naturally ordained routine, in this benevolent world. The Naciketas are able to reach that which is the bridge for the sacrificers, the fearlessness and the far shore - for those who seek to cross, the imperishable supreme Brahman.

Know the Ātmān, i.e. being, as the rider, the body indeed as the chariot; know the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as the reins.

The senses are called the horses, and the sense-objects their paths. The Ātman, the being, joined with the senses and mind, is said to be the enjoyer by the wise.

But he who lacks understanding and always has an unrestrained mind, his senses are uncontrollable like bad horses for the charioteer.

But he who has understanding and always has a restrained mind, his senses are controllable like good horses for the charioteer.

Similarly, he who lacks knowledge, is unmindful and always impure, does not attain that state and goes to the cycle of birth and death.

But he who has knowledge, is mindful, always pure — he indeed attains that state from which one is not born again.

The person who has wisdom as a charioteer and mind as reins attains the end of the path — that supreme state of lord Viṣṇu.

The objects are superior to the senses; the mind is higher than the objects; the intellect is higher than the mind; and the great Ātmān is higher than the intellect. The unmanifest is higher than the great Ātmān, i.e. the being. The Puruṣaḥ, i.e. the supreme lord, is higher than the unmanifest; nothing is higher than the supreme lord — that is the final limit, the highest goal.

This Ātman, hidden in all beings, manifests. It is perceived by those with a sharp and subtle intellect, by those who are seers of the subtle.

The wise should merge their speech into the mind, then merge the mind into knowledge, knowledge into the Ātman. That Knowledge Ātman into the Mahat, and finally merges that (Mahat) into the Peaceful Ātman.

Arise, awake, and having obtained your boons, understand them. The path is as sharp and difficult as a razor's edge, say the wise sages.

One who realizes that eternal, formless, soundless, touchless, tasteless, odourless, and imperishable essence, which is beyond the Mahat and constant, is liberated from the jaws of death.

The eternal story of Nachiketa, as told by Death, brings glory to the wise who speak and hear it, in the realm of Brahman.

Whoever recites this supreme secret in the assembly of Brahman, with devotion, during the Śrāddha ceremony, is destined for eternity.

The self-existent Lord created through an inquisitive means the senses with outward tendencies; hence, people see the external world and not the inner ātman. However, a wise person, seeking immortality, turns his gaze inward and perceives the inner ātman.

Childish follow outward desires and fall into the snares of widespread death. But the wise, knowing immortality, do not seek permanence in the impermanent existence here.

It is this alone, the means, by which one perceives and understands form, taste, smell, sound, touch, and union; and what else remains or persists? This is indeed that.

The wise person, having realized the great and all-pervading 'Ātmān' that sees both the end of dreams and wakefulness, does not grieve.

He who realizes this 'Ātmān', the ruler of what has been and what will be, which is the source of bliss, and which resides close to the individual being, 'Jīva', does not despise anything. This is indeed that (ultimate truth).

He, the unborn, who was before the penance, and created before from the cosmic waters, who entering the cave (of the heart), stood there as witness with the beings - this indeed is that ultimate reality.

The One who is unbound, the supreme among the gods, enters the cave of the heart along with life force ('prāṇa') and stands among the manifested beings. This is indeed that ultimate reality.

O Jātavedas, you are placed in the forests like an embryo well-held by the pregnant ones. You are to be praised by the wakeful ones and the oblation-offering humans by day. This indeed is the ultimate truth.

The place from which the sun rises and where it sets (i.e. the horizon) is revered by all the gods, and no one surpasses it. This is indeed the ultimate truth.

What is here, that is there; what is there, that is here. He goes from death to death who sees as if there is multiplicity here (of the forms of the Lord).

This truth is to be realized by the mind alone; Here, indeed, there is no multiplicity in anything (of the attributes of the Lord). He who sees multiplicity here goes from death to death.

The Puruṣa, the supreme being, small as a thumb, resides in the centre of the 'ātman'. That lord of all that was and will be, does not feel an aversion to it. This indeed is the ultimate truth.

The Puruṣa, the supreme being, small as a thumb, is like a smokeless light. He is the ruler of what has been and what will be; he is the same today and tomorrow. This indeed is the ultimate truth.

Water flows down the mountains when it rains, even in difficult terrain; in the same way, a person who perceives 'dharmas' distinctly as varied, runs apart in various directions.

O Gautama, just as pure water poured into pure water becomes such, so does the ātman of a knowing sage.

The city with eleven gates (the material body) belongs to that Unborn Lord with un-distorted consciousness. Having acted in accordance with dharma with rigour, he does not grieve, and being liberated, he is freed. This (Unborn Lord) is indeed that.

He is called 'haṁsaḥ' as he is free from all faults and embodyies the essence, is called 'śuciṣad' as he is pure, is called 'vasu' as he is the wealth, is called 'antarikṣasat' as he is the dweller in the sky, is called 'hotā' as he abides in all senses and other body parts, is called 'vediṣad' as he is worshipped in the altar is the knower of the altar, is called 'atithi' as he is served with abundant food, is called 'duroṇasat' as he is situated in the vessel of Soma, is called 'nṛṣad' as he is best among men, is called 'varasat' as he is best among gods, is called 'rutasat' as in the form of truth is present in the Vedas, is called 'vyomasat' as he is he is in the Prakrti, which pervades the entire universe and is declared as the glory of the sky, is called 'abjā' the lotus-born, 'gojā' the earth-born, 'adrijā' the mountain-born, due to his special presence there. He is called 'ṛtajā' as he is stationed among the liberated who have gone to lord Vishnu, ever following the rouitine, is called 'ṛtaṁ' as he is primarily described by the Vedas as truth, and is called 'bṛhat' as he is indeed the great Supreme Person with complete qualities.

The breath is raised upwards and the down-breath is drawn back. In the centre sits the dwarf Lord Vāmana, worshipped by all the gods.

When the body of the embodied being falls away and is released, what remains here? This is indeed that.

No one lives by breath or exhalation; rather, they live by something else on which both depend.

Indeed, I shall reveal to you this secret eternal Brahman. As the soul attains death, it becomes, O Gautama.

Some beings enter the womb to take on a body, while others merge into the spiritual and existential steadiness, based on their deeds and knowledge.

Among all those who are asleep, the one who remains awake, creating desire after desire, is indeed the pure one, the Brahman, and is called the immortal. In that, all the worlds are contained, and no one can transcend it. This is that essence.

Just as fire enters the world and takes on different forms, the one inner Ātmān of all beings also manifests in various forms externally.

Just as the air, being one, enters the world and assumes different forms, so does the one Inner-Ātmān of all beings manifest in various forms externally.

Just as the sun, which is the eye of the world, remains unaffected by the external impurities of the eyes, similarly, the Inner-Ātmān of all beings remains untouched by the external sorrows of the world.

The One who is the controller and the Inner-Ātmān of all beings manifests in various forms. The wise who perceive him within themselves attain eternal happiness, and not others.

He is the eternal among the eternals, the conscious among the conscious beings, and the one who fulfils the desires of the many. The wise who perceive him within their own selves attain eternal peace, not others.

They consider this to be the indescribable-supreme-happiness. How indeed can I know that? Does it shine or not?

In that place, the sun does not shine, nor do the moon and stars; these lightnings do not shine, so how can this fire? Everything shines following that shining one; by his light, all this becomes illuminated.

The eternal 'aśvattha', i.e fig tree, has its roots above and branches below. It is said to be bright; it is Brahman, and it is immortal. All the worlds are situated in it, and no one transcends it. This is indeed that.

Everything in this world moves by the force of life (Prāṇa). Emanating from it is a great fear, like a raised thunderbolt. Those who understand this become immortal.

Out of fear, the fire burns, the sun shines, and Indra, Vayu, and even death, the fifth, perform their duties.

If one fails to understand the truth here, before the dissolution of the body, then in the heavens, in the worlds, one is destined for embodiment.

The Ātman is perceived like a reflection in a mirror by the seers, like a dream in the realm of the ancestors, like a reflection on water in the realm of celestial beings, and like an interplay of shadow and light in the realm of Brahman.

The wise person, understanding the distinct conditions of the senses, their fluctuations, and their unique manifesting capabilities, does not lament.

The mind is superior to the senses; the intellect is superior to the mind; the great-ātmān is superior to the intellect; and the unmanifest is superior to the great-ātmān.

But the Supreme Person is beyond the unmanifest, all-pervading, and without any distinguishing mark. By realizing Him, a being is liberated and attains immortality.

The true form of this is not visible and cannot be seen with the eyes. It is understood by the heart, wisdom, and mind. Those who realize this truth become immortal.

When the five senses stand still together with the mind, and the intellect does not move - they say that is the supreme state.

Yoga is considered to be the steady control of the senses. At that time, one becomes vigilant, for yoga is indeed to overcome the source of origin and dissolution.

Indeed, it is not possible to perceive through speech, nor through mind, nor through eyes. Thus, it exists elsewhere than the speaker. How can it be perceived?

The essence of both is to be realized in understanding the forms of the Lord as 'asti', i.e. that which exists, and as 'tattvabhāv', i.e. giver of manifestation to true principles. Having realized the form of lord 'asti' only the form of the lord as 'tattvabhāv' becomes clear.

When all desires residing in the heart are relinquished, the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here.

When all the knots of the heart are broken, the mortal becomes immortal; this is the essence of the teaching.

There are a hundred and one channels of the heart; of them, one rises, and emerges into the head. Going upwards through it, one attains immortality; the others spread out in other directions upon departing.

The person, the inner-ātman, of the size of a thumb, is always situated in the hearts of the people. With steadfastness, one should extract it from one's own body, like the stalk from the muñja grass. One should know him as pure and immortal, know Him to be pure and immortal.

Nachiketa, after receiving the knowledge imparted by Death, and mastering the complete method of yoga, becoming pure, attained Brahman, and became immortal. Anyone else who practices in this manner concerning the Ātman also achieves the same result.