Hindu scriptures, particularly the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita, offer profound teachings about life, emphasizing the importance of dharma (righteousness), karma (action and consequence), and the ultimate goal of moksha (liberation). One of the teaching that were told to many of us in begining of life is :
प्रथमे नाSर्जिता विद्या द्वितीये नाSर्जितं धनं |
तृतीये नाSर्जितं पुण्यं चतुर्थे किं करिष्यति.||
Prathame naarjitaa Viddyaa dwiteeye naarjitam Dhanam,
Triteeye naarjitam Punyam Chaturthe kim karishyati.
Pratham = first.
Naarjitaa = na + arjitaa
Na = not.
arjitaa = earned , acquired.
Vidya = knowledge and scholarship.
Dwiteeye = second.
Dhanam = wealth
Triteeya = third .
Chaturth = fourth.
Kim = what.
Karishyati = does.
'Punya' = It is a concept of Hindu Religion, which implies that if a person does good and philanthropic deeds during his lifetime he accumulates certain plus points called 'Punya", which fructify during his next birth cycle and the God bestows upon him all the comforts of life.
i.e. If a person did not acquire knowledge and scholarship during the first phase of his life, did not acquire wealth during the second phase and did not earn 'Punya" during the third phase, then what can he do now in the fourth phase of his life ?
punya is a part of the doctrine of 'Karma' deeply embedded in Hindu Religion. Karma means doing various deeds, further divided into sukarma (virtuous deeds) and dushkarma (wrong deeds). Dushkarma results in acquiring "Paap' (sins), for which one gets punishment from God by way of birth in a very low household or in another life form destined to struggle and face miseries throughout the life.
The above verses highlighting the importance of various phases of human life. According to Hindu scriptures human life has been divided into four stages of 25 years each called :
Brahmacharya - spent as a child and thereafter in acquiring knowledge as a student,
Ghrastha - getting married and bringing up a family and support them,
Vanaprastha - detachment from married life and devoting time in philanthrophy and religious pursuits,
Sanyaas - relinquishing all worldly attachments and desires and becoming a 'Sanyaasi' and wait for salvation.
As per the life lesson, if a person has not lived his life as ordained by the Shashtras, his old age becomes miserable.
@queenart