Shloka 18
लोकान्तरं गतवति मय्यनाथा कुटुम्बिनी । वर्तिष्यते कथं त्वेषा बालकाननुशोचती ॥ १८ ॥
lokāntaraṁ gatavati mayy anāthā kuṭumbinī vartiṣyate kathaṁ tv eṣā bālakān anuśocatī
King Purañjana anxiously thought, “Alas, my wife is burdened with so many children; when I depart to another realm, she will be without shelter. When I leave this body, how will she maintain all the family? Thoughts of household support will greatly harass her.”
All these thoughts of one’s wife indicate that the King was overly engrossed with the thoughts of woman. Generally a chaste woman becomes a very obedient wife. This causes a husband to become attached to his wife, and consequently he thinks of his wife very much at the time of death. This is a very dangerous situation, as is evident from the life of King Purañjana. If one thinks of his wife instead of Kṛṣṇa at the time of death, he will certainly not return home, back to Godhead, but will be forced to accept the body of a woman and thus begin another chapter of material existence.
FAQs
This verse portrays how deep family attachment makes one anxious at the time of departure (death), worrying about dependents rather than taking shelter of the Supreme.
In the Purañjana allegory, he is overwhelmed by bodily identification and affection, so he laments that his wife will be “unprotected” and will suffer for the children when he is gone.
Do your duties responsibly, but cultivate devotion and inner detachment so that care for family does not become bondage or panic at life’s inevitable changes.