Nachiketa (Sanskrit: Naciketa), is the child protagonist in an ancient Hindu fable about the nature of the soul and Brahman. The story is told in the Katha Upanishad (c. 5th century BCE), though the name has several earlier references. He was taught Self-knowledge, the separation of the human soul (the supreme Self) from the body, by the god of Death, Yama. Nachiketa is noted for his rejection of material desires which are ephemeral, and for his single-minded pursuit of the path of realising Brahman / Moksha i.e. emancipation of the soul from rebirth.
The name Nachiketa, (nAchiketas, that which is unperceived) "refers to the quickening Spirit that lies within all things like fire, latent in wood, the spirit that gives, the unquenchable thirst for the unknown." Nachiketa was a son of the sage Vājashravasa (famed for donations).