To you, freed from the mouth of death, know the immortal Ātman. This is the sacrifice of Brahman. You are the best of the knowers of Brahman, the most ancient; you are, in truth, the Ātman, the abundance of the birth of the universe.

Yama declares that Naciketas has been liberated from death (mṛtyumukhāt pramuktam) and recognizes him as brahma-vit (knower of Brahman). The Ātman is amṛta (immortal, not subject to death) and is also viśva-yoni (the source of the entire universe). This verse celebrates the seeker’s transformation: from being “delivered to death” by his father, Naciketas has become the vessel of immortality itself.