Coveting riches of the dead, some remain back - mantrA 156

srigurubhyO namahA |
The sage ponders on the pitiable state of affairs of the average human, deluded completely and lost to the illusory pleasures of the world in the 156th mantrA.

வைச்சகல் வுற்றது கண்டு மனிதர்கள்
அச்சக லாதென நாடும் அரும்பொருள்
பிச்சது வாய்ப்பின் தொடர்வுறு மற்றவர்
எச்சக லாநின் றிளைக்கின்ற வாறே. I.2.14.156

The body to its final fate consigned,
Friends and kinsmen all dispersed;
But some remained; long had they lusted for the dead man's wealth,
Intent on riches, men deem they could for ever hold,
Panting and pining for what they might carry by stealth. I.2.14.156

Com - The body to its final fate consigned, Friends and kinsmen all dispersed; After placing the corpse on the pyre and setting fire to it (as described in the previous mantra) and after all the kinsmen and friends have gone home to their lives But some remained; long had they lusted for the dead man's wealth, they are still deluded by the false belief that the body is real and influenced by the idea that the soul will never leave the body Intent on riches, men deem they could for ever hold, they continue to seek and to be lost in the enjoyment of  mere material goods and pleasures Panting and pining for what they might carry by stealth.and in the process of so pining after these riches and pleasures they undergo so much difficulty and pain and lose even their humanity in the process. What a pitiable state?

*The English verse for this particular mantra, in my opinion, conveys an idea that is different to what is being hinted in the original. Thus, I have based my commentary for this on the original intent of the sage and not on the words in the English verse. The gist of this mantra is not that there are evil relatives waiting in the background to swoop on the dead man’s belongings like vultures (though it is perfectly true that such people do exist, that is not the focus of the sage here). Reading this together with the previous mantra we can understand that the sage here is trying to point out the pitiable state of affairs where even after realising this body is mortal and transitory (by coming face to face with death), the foolish people continue to be deluded by the phenomenal world. Though they can easily recognise the fact that their wealth and houses and their beautiful wives would remain behind in the world of the living and be of no use to them when their transitory body attains to its natural end, they still continue to be deluded by the glamour of sensory titillation and greed. They lose their humanity and the more noble emotions and instead they are led by desire, lust, greed, envy, arrogance and delusion. Here the sage uses the word ‘picchu’ which indicates insane to describe such people, as they have lost their discriminatory intellect or buddhi to help see what is real and what is not real.

thirucchitrambalam |