दरिद्रो निरहंस्तम्भो मुक्त: सर्वमदैरिह । कृच्छ्रं यदृच्छयाप्नोति तद्धि तस्य परं तप: ॥ १५ ॥
daridro nirahaṁ-stambho muktaḥ sarva-madair iha kṛcchraṁ yadṛcchayāpnoti tad dhi tasya paraṁ tapaḥ
- daridraḥ
- a poverty-stricken person
- nir-aham-stambhaḥ
- is automatically freed from all false prestige
- muktaḥ
- liberated
- sarva
- all
- madaiḥ
- from false ego
- iha
- in this world
- kṛcchram
- with great difficulty
- yadṛcchayā āpnoti
- what he gains by chance from providence
- tat
- that
- hi
- indeed
- tasya
- his
- param
- perfect
- tapaḥ
- austerity
A poverty-stricken man must automatically undergo austerities and penances because he does not have the wealth to possess anything. Thus his false prestige is vanquished. Always in need of food, shelter and clothing, he must be satisfied with what is obtained by the mercy of providence. Undergoing such compulsory austerities is good for him because this purifies him and completely frees him from false ego.