Not having lived the holy life nor acquired wealth in youth, they languish like old herons in a pond without fish.

Acaritvā brahmacariyaṃ — not having lived the holy life: brahmacariya is the holy life, the life of spiritual practice. Youth is the ideal time to begin practice — energy is abundant, the body is strong, the mind is flexible.

Aladdhā yobbane dhanaṃ — nor acquired wealth in youth: yobbana is youth. The verse does not condemn wealth but its absence: if you have not practiced the holy life nor secured material resources, old age arrives without either support.

Jiṇṇakoñcāva jhāyanti — they languish like old herons: the old heron (jiṇṇa-koñca) in an empty pond is an image of abandonment and loneliness. Young herons fish actively; old ones remain motionless and without energy.

Khīṇamaccheva pallale — in a pond without fish: the pond without fish is old age without resources — neither spiritual nor material. The combination of old age, lack of practice, and lack of resources produces the desolation this verse describes.