Shloka 9
Ethics of Action — Chanakya Niti
वृद्धकाले मृता भार्या बन्धुहस्तगतं धनम् ।
भोजनं च पराधीनं तिस्रः पुंसां विडम्बनाः ॥
vṛddhakāle mṛtā bhāryā bandhuhastagataṃ dhanam |
bhojanaṃ ca parādhīnaṃ tisraḥ puṃsāṃ viḍambanāḥ ||
Three humiliations for a man: a wife dying in old age, wealth falling under relatives’ control, and food that depends on others.
FAQs
In the broader nīti-śāstra tradition, such verses function as compact observations about vulnerability, status, and dependency within household and kinship structures. The themes—loss in old age, relatives controlling property, and reliance on others for sustenance—reflect concerns recognizable in premodern South Asian social life where family networks and patronage could shape security and reputation.
Dependency is expressed through the compound पराधीन (parādhīna), literally “under another’s control,” applied to भोजन (bhojana). The formulation frames dependence on others for basic sustenance as a marker of diminished autonomy and social standing within the verse’s male-centered perspective.
The verse uses parallel noun phrases to list three “विडम्बनाः” (viḍambanāḥ), a term conveying indignity or being made an object of mockery. The compounds वृद्धकाले (vṛddhakāle) and बन्धुहस्तगतं (bandhuhastagataṃ) compress time (“in old age”) and agency/control (“in the hand of relatives”), producing an aphoristic style typical of nīti literature where social risk is summarized through terse, image-like constructions.