Shloka 15
Prahlāda Instructs the Sons of Demons: Begin Bhakti from Childhood; Household Attachment as Bondage; Nārāyaṇa as the All-Pervading Supersoul
वित्तेषु नित्याभिनिविष्टचेता विद्वांश्च दोषं परवित्तहर्तु: । प्रेत्येह वाथाप्यजितेन्द्रियस्त- दशान्तकामो हरते कुटुम्बी ॥ १५ ॥
vitteṣu nityābhiniviṣṭa-cetā vidvāṁś ca doṣaṁ para-vitta-hartuḥ pretyeha vāthāpy ajitendriyas tad aśānta-kāmo harate kuṭumbī
L’homme attaché à l’entretien des siens, incapable de maîtriser ses sens, plonge son cœur dans l’accumulation d’argent. Bien qu’il sache que voler autrui entraîne la peine du roi et, après la mort, celle de Yamarāja, ses désirs agités le poussent à tromper pour s’enrichir.
Especially in these days, people do not believe in a next life or in the court of Yamarāja and the various punishments of the sinful. But at least one should know that one who cheats others to acquire money will be punished by the laws of the government. Nonetheless, people do not care about the laws of this life or those governing the next. Despite whatever knowledge one has, one cannot stop his sinful activities if he is unable to control his senses.
FAQs
This verse says that even a knowledgeable person, if absorbed in wealth and unable to control the senses, may still steal others’ property because desire remains unrestful.
Prahlāda was instructing his schoolmates that material attachment—especially to wealth and family-centered desire—pushes one into sinful acts, even when one knows they are wrong.
Reduce obsession with money, practice restraint of the senses, and cultivate contentment so that fear, pressure, or desire does not drive one into unethical earning or taking what is not given.