Shloka 10
Kapila’s Analysis of Materialistic Life, Death, and the Path to Hell
Kāla, Karma, and Yamadūtas
अर्थैरापादितैर्गुर्व्या हिंसयेतस्ततश्च तान् । पुष्णाति येषां पोषेण शेषभुग्यात्यध: स्वयम् ॥ १० ॥
arthair āpāditair gurvyā hiṁsayetas-tataś ca tān puṣṇāti yeṣāṁ poṣeṇa śeṣa-bhug yāty adhaḥ svayam
He gathers money by violence here and there; though he uses it to maintain his family, he himself partakes of only a little, and for that wealth earned by unrighteous means he falls into hell on their account.
There is a Bengali proverb, “The person for whom I have stolen accuses me of being a thief.” The family members, for whom an attached person acts in so many criminal ways, are never satisfied. In illusion an attached person serves such family members, and by serving them he is destined to enter into a hellish condition of life. For example, a thief steals something to maintain his family, and he is caught and imprisoned. This is the sum and substance of material existence and attachment to material society, friendship and love. Although an attached family man is always engaged in getting money by hook or by crook for the maintenance of his family, he cannot enjoy more than what he could consume even without such criminal activities. A man who eats eight ounces of foodstuffs may have to maintain a big family and earn money by any means to support that family, but he himself is not offered more than what he can eat, and sometimes he eats the remnants that are left after his family members are fed. Even by earning money by unfair means, he cannot enjoy life for himself. That is called the covering illusion of māyā.
FAQs
This verse says that wealth gained through grievous violence harms others and binds the earner in heavy karma, leading to personal degradation despite outward acts of maintenance.
Kapila is describing how fruitive life entangles the soul: even seemingly responsible duties like supporting dependents become karmically binding when the means of earning are sinful and violent.
Choose livelihood and consumption that minimize harm, avoid exploitation, and align work with dharma; support others through honest means and cultivate bhakti to transcend karmic bondage.