Shloka 15
आस्तेऽवमत्योपन्यस्तं गृहपाल इवाहरन् । आमयाव्यप्रदीप्ताग्निरल्पाहारोऽल्पचेष्टित: ॥ १५ ॥
āste ’vamatyopanyastaṁ gṛha-pāla ivāharan āmayāvy apradīptāgnir alpāhāro ’lpa-ceṣṭitaḥ
Thus he stays at home, despised like a pet dog, eating whatever is carelessly set before him. Afflicted by many ailments such as indigestion, his digestive fire grows dim; he eats only a few morsels, moves little, and becomes an invalid, no longer able to work.
Before meeting death one is sure to become a diseased invalid, and when he is neglected by his family members, his life becomes less than a dog’s because he is put into so many miserable conditions. The Vedic literatures therefore enjoin that before the arrival of such miserable conditions one should leave home and die without the knowledge of his family members. If a man leaves home and dies without his family’s knowing, that is considered to be a glorious death. But an attached family man wants his family members to carry him in a great procession even after his death, and although he will not be able to see how the procession goes, he still desires that his body be taken gorgeously in procession. Thus he is happy without even knowing where he has to go when he leaves his body for the next life.
FAQs
This verse describes how a person who once lived for household prestige can become neglected in old age—weak, diseased, with low appetite and little strength—illustrating the misery that follows material attachment.
Kapila uses the image to show loss of dignity and dependence: the neglected elder remains in the home merely as a tolerated presence, not honored, highlighting the bitter result of identifying life’s value with domestic status.
Cultivate devotion and inner purpose early, reduce over-attachment to social validation and family control, and invest in spiritual practices so self-worth is not shattered when health and status decline.