Shloka 74
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
अनुगम्य विनाशान्ते निवर्तन्ते ह बान्धवा: । अग्नौ प्रक्षिप्य पुरुष ज्ञातय: सुहृदस्तथा,मृत्युके बाद भाई-बन्धु, कुटुम्बी और सुहृद् श्मशान-भूमितक पीछे-पीछे जाते हैं और मृत पुरुषके शरीरको चिताकी आगमें डालकर लौट आते हैं
anugamya vināśānte nivartante ha bāndhavāḥ | agnau prakṣipya puruṣa jñātayaḥ suhṛdas tathā ||
Vyāsa said: When a man’s life has reached its end, his relatives do follow him—yet only as far as the place of destruction. After casting the dead body into the funeral fire, the kinsmen and friends turn back and return. Thus is the hard limit of worldly attachment made plain: companionship goes only to the cremation ground, while the soul must journey on alone, bearing the fruits of its own deeds.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly relationships, however dear, accompany a person only up to death and the cremation ground; beyond that, one proceeds alone, supported only by one’s own dharma and karma. The verse encourages detachment and ethical living in view of life’s impermanence.
Vyāsa describes the customary scene after death: relatives and friends follow the deceased to the end, place the body into the funeral fire, and then return home—marking the boundary of human companionship in the face of mortality.