Text 15
āste ’vamatyopanyastaṁ
gṛha-pāla ivāharan
āmayāvy apradīptāgnir
alpāhāro ’lpa-ceṣṭitaḥ
āste — he remains; avamatyā — negligently; upanyastam — what is placed; gṛha-pālaḥ — a dog; iva — like; āharan — eating; āmayāvī — diseased; apradīpta-agniḥ — having dyspepsia; alpa — little; āhāraḥ — eating; alpa — little; ceṣṭitaḥ — his activity.
Thus he remains at home just like a pet dog and eats whatever is so negligently given to him. Afflicted with many illnesses, such as dyspepsia and loss of appetite, he eats only very small morsels of food, and he becomes an invalid who cannot work any more.
Before meeting death one is sure to become a diseased invalid, and when he is neglected by his family members, his life becomes less than a dog’s because he is put into so many miserable conditions. The Vedic literatures therefore enjoin that before the arrival of such miserable conditions one should leave home and die without the knowledge of his family members. If a man leaves home and dies without his family’s knowing, that is considered to be a glorious death. But an attached family man wants his family members to carry him in a great procession even after his death, and although he will not be able to see how the procession goes, he still desires that his body be taken gorgeously in procession. Thus he is happy without even knowing where he has to go when he leaves his body for the next life.