Second boon

After yamaraja granted the first boon, naciketa started to lay down the foundation for his second boon. In the first boon, he asked for the welfare of his father, and in the second boon, he is going to ask for the welfare of fellow human beings. He asked for the knowledge of Vedic ritual, which is the means to heaven. Thus, he glorified heaven in the next mantra.

svarge loke na bhayam kiñcanāsti

na tatra tvam na jarayā bibheti |

ubhe tīrtvā’śanāyāpipāse

śokātigo modate svargaloke ||1.1.12||

There is not even a little fear in heaven. There is no fear of being endowed with old age since you (yamaraja) are not there. Having crossed over both hunger and thirst, and getting beyond sorrow, one rejoices in the heaven.

svarge loke na bhayam kiñcanāsti na jarayā bibheti - there is not even a little bit of fear in heaven caused by old age, disease, and death. Because na tatra tvam - yamaraja as the time principle is not active, having very little influence there, thus time acts much slower in heaven compared to on the earth. Since there is no old age, sickness, and death in heaven, therefore it is said to be beyond sorrow - śokātigo. Moreover, ubhe tīrtvā’śanāyāpipāse - having crossed over both hunger and thirst, since there is no hunger and thirst in heaven, one rejoices in heaven - modate svargaloke. Naciketa continues:

sa tvamagnim svargyamadhyeṣi mṛtyo

prabrūhi tvam śraddadhānāya mahyam |

svargalokā amṛtatvam bhajante

etad dvitīyena vṛṇe vareṇa ||1.1.13||

Oh lord of death, you are the one who knows the fire (ritual) which is the means for heaven, please tell me who is full of faith. (By that ritual) the citizen of heaven attains immortality. I choose this (knowledge of fire ritual) as my second boon.

Naciketa asked for the second boon in which he seeks to learn the fire ritual, that leads one to heaven, where the celestials enjoy immortality - svargalokā amṛtatvam bhajante. The immortality here is not absolute, it is just very long compared to our life on earth. Since going to heaven is a result of actions which is limited by nature, therefore as the result, it is also limited. Only when compared to the earth, the heavenly pleasure is superior.

Since most human beings desire immortality, naciketa wants to learn the means of attaining the heavenly world, thus society can benefit from that. With sincerity, he asked yamaraja to teach him who is full of śraddha - prabrūhi tvam śraddadhānāya mahyam. Śraddha - faith is very important in this context. Because that a ritual will lead to heaven is a matter of faith. In fact, the very existence of heaven itself is a matter of faith. That one will continue to exist after death and continue to heaven is a matter of faith. In short, the entire ritual portion of Veda is faith-based. If one has no faith, the ritual will not mean anything to him. Therefore naciketa declares in this verse to yamaraja that he has faith (in the ritual and heaven).

The word agni - fire which is also called agni-viydā, has two meanings. In this mantra, it means fire ritual of which result is attaining heaven. Another meaning is an upāsana - meditation upon the cosmic form of Īśvara, which also is called virād-upāsana, which will be mentioned in the next mantra.

A person has the option of performing the ritual with or without meditation. The ritual with meditation (upāsana sahita karma) brings more benefit than the mere ritual. A mere ritual will result in lower heaven, while the one accompanied by upāsana will give brahmaloka.

Yamaraja teaches these two agni-vidyā to naciketa in the next mantra.

pra te bravīmi tadu me nibodha

svargyamagnim naciketaḥ prajānan |

anantalokāptimatho pratiṣṭhām

viddhi tvametam nihitam guhāyām ||1.1.14||

Oh naciketa, remembering that agni-vidyā which is the means for heaven, I shall teach you. Learn it from me. May you know this fire, which is the means for attaining heaven and which is the support (of the world), to be located in the cave (of the heart).

Yamaraja assures naciketa that he knows very well this agni-vidyā which is the means for heaven. Thus just recalling, he will pass this knowledge to naciketa - pra te bravīmi tadu me nibodha svargyamagnim naciketaḥ prajānan. Yamaraja conveyed that agni-vidyā has two meanings, one is in the form of ritual which is the means to attain the world of heaven called anantalokah - anantalokāptim. Another meaning is upāsana - meditation which he called pratiṣṭhām - virāt (cosmic form of Īśvara) which is the support of the entire world, as the object of meditation. May naciketa know that this agni-vidyā is located in the heart/mind of the meditator as virād - viddhi tvametam nihitam guhāyām. Since the mind is centred on the object of meditation at all times, so virād is said to be located in the heart of the meditator.