Shloka 6
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
गत्वानवाप्य तत् सर्व नदीवेगसमाप्लुतम् | न पश्यामि तदित्येवं पितरं सोडब्रवीन्मुनि:,नाचिकेत जब वहाँ गया, तब उसे कुछ न मिला। सारा सामान नदीके वेगमें बह गया था। नाचिकेत मुनि लौट आया और पितासे बोला--'मुझे तो वहाँ वह सब सामान नहीं दिखायी दिया”
gatvān avāpya tat sarvaṁ nadī-vega-samāplutam | na paśyāmi tad ity evaṁ pitaraṁ so 'bravīn muniḥ ||
Having gone there, he found nothing at all; everything had been swept away by the river’s rushing current. The sage returned and said to his father, “I do not see that (property) there.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores truthful reporting and clear speech in the face of loss, while also pointing to the impermanence of possessions—what is entrusted to circumstances (like a river’s force) may vanish, and one should respond with honesty rather than concealment.
A sage goes to retrieve or verify certain goods, but finds that the river’s current has carried everything away. He returns and informs his father plainly that he cannot see or find the items there.