ABSTRACT
The Katha Upanisad is, at one time, both a compelling tale of a father-son interaction gone wrong, and a careful reflection on deep philosophical questions about the self. The text begins as young Naciketas raises pious worries about the efficacy of his father's ritual sacrifice of older cattle: "their water drunk, their grass eaten, their milk milked, their strength spent, joyless, verily, are those worlds to which he, who presents such cows goes". Naciketas' first request is sweetly filial; he hopes that, upon his release, his father would greet him happily, and "with anger gone". Death quickly grants this wish. On its face, Naciketas' repudiation of Yama's offer seems grounded in an assessment of the ephemeral and "transient" nature of bodily pleasures - "they wear out, O Yama". The boon which Naciketas has requested is an account of "what there is in the great passing-on".
