Young Nachiketa was sent, through a hasty word of his father's, to the house of Yama, who keeps the door between worlds. Yama was away, and the boy waited patiently for three days without food.
Returning, Yama was so impressed by the boy's calm that he offered him three wishes. Nachiketa asked for peace at home, for sacred knowledge, and finally for the answer to the biggest question: what truly lasts when everything else ends?
Yama tried to tempt him with riches and pleasures instead, but Nachiketa would not be distracted. Pleased, Yama taught him that the true Self within never dies — a wisdom remembered ever since.