Shloka 17
Nīti-saṅgraha: Conduct, Association, Kali-yuga Decline, and the Supremacy of Vidyā
दाता दरिद्रः कृपणोर्ऽथयुक्तः पुत्त्रो ऽविधेयः कुजनस्य सेवा / परोपकारेषु नरस्य मृत्युः प्रजायते दुश्चरितानि पञ्च
dātā daridraḥ kṛpaṇor'thayuktaḥ puttro 'vidheyaḥ kujanasya sevā / paropakāreṣu narasya mṛtyuḥ prajāyate duścaritāni pañca
From evil conduct arise five misfortunes: a generous man becomes poor; a miser becomes wealthy; a son turns disobedient; one ends up serving wicked people; and a man meets death while engaged in helping others.
Lord Vishnu (in instruction to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Durācāra (evil conduct) breeds paradoxical, painful outcomes and social inversions; karma can manifest as relational and existential suffering.
Vedantic Theme: Karma-phala operating through prarabdha-like reversals; rajas-tamas leading to dukha; need for sattvic alignment.
Application: Avoid unethical means even if they seem to ‘work’; choose wise beneficiaries of generosity; cultivate discernment (viveka) in service and alliances.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: human society (household/lineage and patronage networks implied)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: karma-phala discussions and niti warnings about durjana-seva and viparita-phala
FAQs
The verse frames reversals in life—poverty for the generous, wealth for the miser, family discord, degrading associations, and untimely death—as outcomes that can arise from duścarita (bad conduct), emphasizing karma as a moral causality behind suffering.
Indirectly: by warning that unethical conduct shapes one’s life circumstances and end-of-life conditions. In the Garuda Purana’s broader narrative, such conduct influences the state of mind at death and the karmic trajectory that follows.
Treat character as destiny: avoid unethical habits that corrupt judgment and relationships, choose good company over serving the wicked, and pair charity and service with discernment and self-protection.