Shloka 33
Kapila’s Analysis of Materialistic Life, Death, and the Path to Hell
Kāla, Karma, and Yamadūtas
केवलेन ह्यधर्मेण कुटुम्बभरणोत्सुक: । याति जीवोऽन्धतामिस्रं चरमं तमस: पदम् ॥ ३३ ॥
kevalena hy adharmeṇa kuṭumba-bharaṇotsukaḥ yāti jīvo ’ndha-tāmisraṁ caramaṁ tamasaḥ padam
Therefore, one who is intensely eager to maintain family and kinsmen solely by unrighteous means certainly goes to the darkest hell, known as Andha-tāmisra.
Three words in this verse are very significant. Kevalena means “only by black methods,” adharmeṇa means “unrighteous” or “irreligious,” and kuṭumba-bharaṇa means “family maintenance.” Maintaining one’s family is certainly the duty of a householder, but one should be eager to earn his livelihood by the prescribed method, as stated in the scriptures. In Bhagavad-gītā it is described that the Lord has divided the social system into four classifications of castes, or varṇas, according to quality and work. Apart from Bhagavad-gītā, in every society a man is known according to his quality and work. For example, when a man is constructing wooden furniture, he is called a carpenter, and a man who works with an anvil and iron is called a blacksmith. Similarly, a man who is engaged in the medical or engineering fields has a particular duty and designation. All these human activities have been divided by the Supreme Lord into four varṇas, namely brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. In Bhagavad-gītā and in other Vedic literatures, the specific duties of the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra are mentioned.
FAQs
This verse warns that maintaining one’s family through purely irreligious means drags the soul into Andhatāmisra, the darkest hellish destination, because the motive and method are rooted in ignorance and sin.
Kapila instructs Devahūti on the consequences of adverse fruitive activities, showing how attachment-driven sin leads to hellish suffering and deeper bondage, contrasting it with the path of purification and devotion.
Earn honestly, avoid harm and exploitation, restrain greed, and make family life dharmic by offering one’s work and results to the Lord (bhakti), so maintenance does not become an excuse for sin.