There is no refuge in children, nor in father, nor in relatives; when death has come, no protection among kin.

Na santi puttā tāṇāya — children (puttā) do not exist as refuge (tāṇāya). Tāṇa is refuge, protection, shelter. Not even the most intimate ties can stop the inevitable.

Antakenādhipannassa — for one over whom (adhipanna) death (antaka, “the finisher”) has come. Death does not negotiate, accepts no substitutes, does not distinguish between rich and poor, between those with many children and those with none.

This verse, attributed to the Buddha after his father’s death, is a direct blow to the illusion of security built from attachments. In yoga practice, death meditation (maraṇasati) is not morbid but liberating: recognizing that no tie protects us, we turn toward the only thing that can — the path of awakening.