Shloka 23
Nītisāra: Virtuous Association, Household Dharma, and Kāla (Time) as the Supreme Regulator
यस्य भार्या श्रितान्यञ्च परवेश्माभिकाङ्क्षिणी / कुक्रिया त्यक्तलज्जा च सा जरा न जरा जरा
yasya bhāryā śritānyañca paraveśmābhikāṅkṣiṇī / kukriyā tyaktalajjā ca sā jarā na jarā jarā
He whose wife seeks other supports and longs for another’s home—committing wicked deeds and casting off modesty—has that wife as his ‘old age’; yet such an old age is no true old age.
Lord Viṣṇu (speaking to Garuḍa / Vinatā-putra)
Concept: Gṛhastha-dharma: marital fidelity and lajja (modesty) as supports of social and spiritual order; adharma in the home becomes a form of living suffering.
Vedantic Theme: Saṃsāra-duḥkha arising from rāga-dveṣa and adharma; the household becomes either a field for sattva or a source of bondage.
Application: Cultivate ethical boundaries, mutual accountability, and sāttvika conduct in relationships; avoid enabling patterns that normalize betrayal and shamelessness.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: household
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.108.24 (praise of virtuous wife as true ‘priyā’); Garuda Purana 1.108.25 (domestic ‘death’ causes); Garuda Purana 1.108.26 (avoid wicked company; remember impermanence)
FAQs
This verse frames a wife’s unfaithfulness and shameless misconduct as a man’s harshest ‘old age’—a lived decline—highlighting fidelity and modesty as core pillars of gṛhastha-dharma.
Rather than describing an after-death scene, it shows karma operating immediately: adharma within marriage becomes a present suffering and social-spiritual deterioration, experienced as ‘jarā’ (decline).
Uphold integrity in relationships—faithfulness, boundaries, and accountability—since ethical collapse at home is portrayed as a direct cause of misery and personal decline.