After being told to go to yamaraja, naciketa deliberated sorrowfully in a solitary place. He thinks about the purpose of his father’s statement.
bahūnāmemi prathamo bahūnāmemi madhyamaḥ |
kim svid yamasya kartavyam yanmayādya kariṣyati ||1.1.5||
Among many, I remain first, (sometimes) I go about medium standard. What work indeed (is there) for yamaraja which (father) will accomplish through me now?
Naciketa has a very systematic thinking about the purpose of his father sending him to yamaraja. The first possibility is that he is useless, so he should just die. But it is being ruled out because bahūnāmemi prathamo - he remains the best among many disciples or sons, with regards to conduct. Or maybe sometimes bahūnāmemi madhyamaḥ - he goes about medium standard among others, but at least not the worst. The gradation is based on how well a student knows the needs of the guru. Uttama-śiśya - the best student is one who acts as his guru’s wish even before the instruction is given (uttamah cintitam kuryāt). Madhyama-śiśya - medium standard student is one who acts as the guru’s instruction (proktakarī tu madhyamah). And one who doesn’t fulfil the commands of the guru even after instructions are verbalised clearly (na kuryāt adhamah proktam), indeed he is adhama-śiśya. Because of this reason, naciketa ruled out the first possibility.
The second possibility is about his usefulness for yamaraja. He ruled out the accomplishment of his father by giving him to yamaraja - yanmayādya kariṣyati since there is no prescription for giving a son as ahuti - oblation in ritual. This is also ruled out the usage of him to yamaraja - kim svid yamasya kartavyam, since being yamaraja, he should have alot a lot of great people who work for him, thus he doesn’t need a young boy like naciketa. Therefore he concludes that his father told that just out of anger without considering the purpose of sending him away. Since this is so, father wouldn’t want to keep his word. But naciketa thinks that not letting his father statement be false. Naciketa told his father in the following manner.
anupaśya yathā pūrve pratipaśya tathāpare |
sasyamiva martyaḥ pacyate sasyamivājāyate punaḥ ||1.1.6||
Please see how the forefathers (conduct). Similarly observe how others (the present people). Human life is just like grains, they are gone when ripen and are born again.
Naciketa told his father anupaśya yathā pūrve - to think deliberately about their forefathers always follow truthfulness. Having learned from them, we should follow their conduct. Similarly, pratipaśya tathāpare - carefully seeing how others such as noble people behave in the present days. This is how dharma continues be upheld no matter in what time and situation. Making one’s words invalid is not there for the people in the past and present. The opposite of that is the behaviour of the wrong people. By doing falsification, one doesn’t become free from old age and death (the benefit is very insignificant). Because sasyamiva martyaḥ pacyate - human being is just like ripened grains plants, they are decaying and died. Having to die off, again they manifest sasyamivājāyate punaḥ - as grains emerge again from the grown. In this manner, what is the benefit of falsification in this temporary world of human beings? Naciketa asked his father to protect his own truth by sending him to yamaraja, this is the intention.
Father who was told in this manner sent naciketa to yama-loka - the world of death for his own truthfulness. Naciketa stays in front of yamaraja’s resident for three nights without food, waiting for him who is on a tour. Having returned from his tour, yamaraja is advised by his minister or his wife in the following manner.
vaiśvānaraḥ praviśatyatithirbrāhmaṇo gṛhān |
tasyaitām śāntim kurvanti hara vaivasvatodakam ||1.1.7||
The god of fire enters the house (as) a brāhmana guest. Noble people do the propitiation offering of this type for that guest. Oh yamaraja, please bring water.
vaiśvānaraḥ - god of fire (agni devata) itself praviśatyatithirbrāhmaṇo gṛhān - entering the house as a brāhmana guest. Fire is powerful and if we know how to handle it, we will be blessed with many benefits. If we don’t handle it properly, it can destroy us. The family of yamaraja is worried about incurring sin by not properly treating the brāhmana boy. Therefore, to quench the fire, the minister or wife of yamaraja advised him to offer propitiation in the form of water for washing feet, offering sit etc., thus they asked yamaraja to bring some water to wash naciketa’s feet. This kind of offering is one of the atithi-śeva (properly hosting the guest). Because by not doing atithi-śeva, unfavourable results will be there as pratyavāya-dośa. Yamaraja’s family member further explains why he should do this immediately.
āśāpratīkṣe saṅgatam sūnṛtām
c’eṣṭāpūrte putrapaśūmśca sarvān |
etadvṛṅkte puruṣasyālpamedhasaḥ
yasyānaśnan vasati brāhmaṇo gṛhe ||1.1.8||
Hopes and expectation; merit obtained from association with virtuous people; merit obtained from speaking good words; merit gained from performance ritual and philanthropic works; and all his children and cattle are destroyed, for the foolish one whose house is stayed by a brāhmana without meal.
As mentioned before, if a brāhmana is not properly treated, it will acquire pāpam which destroys all punyam that one has acquired. A list of punyam that will be denied is given here.
saṅgatam - the result born of association with noble people. sūnṛtām - the result born of pleasant words. iṣṭā-pūrte - the result of vaidika ritual (agnihotra, austerity, truthfulness, protecting veda, serving guests, and serving animals) and the result born of service activities (making pond, wale, reservoir, temple, garden and giving food). Not just that, even āśā-pratīkṣe - hope (is wish for desirable and attainable object which is unknown to come) and expectation (is expecting attainable object which is known to come). And putrapaśūmśca - son and animals, means progeny and wealth, sarvān - all of these etadvṛṅkte - are destroyed puruṣasyālpamedhasaḥ - for a non-intelligent person yasyānaśnan vasati brāhmaṇo gṛhe - who has a hungry brāhmana guest because of not treating him properly.
Thus yamaraja does the worship to naciketa.
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