A miser is someone who is extremely stingy with money, and prefers to save it instead of spending it. A miser's wealth typically ends up either being hoarded away, often not being used or enjoyed during their lifetime, and then passed on to heirs after their death, or in some cases, it could be lost due to theft or mismanagement because of their extreme reluctance to spend even on necessary things, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. The phenomenon of destruction of the accumulated wealth by the successors of misers is very common in the society. To put them in words our ancient Sanskrit has following verses to explain the phenomena.
कृपणो धनलोभेन स्वां भार्यां नाभिगच्छति|
अस्यां यो जायते पुत्रः समे वित्तं हरेदिति||
Krupano dhanlobhen swaam bhaaryaam naabhigachchti.
Asyaam yo jaayate putrah same vittam harediti.
Krupano = a miser
Dhanlobha = desire for wealth.
Swaam = his own.
Bhaaryaa = wife.
Naabhigachchti = na + abhigachchti Na = not.
Abhigachchti = maintain marital relations.
Asyaam = theirs.
Yo = even if
Jaayate = born
Putra = son.
Same = he.
Vittam = wealth.
Harediti = destroys.
A miser,due to his excessive desire for acquiring wealth, does not even maintain marital relations with his wife. Even if a son is born to them , he (their son) afterwards destroys the accumulated wealth (due to his extravagance).
The lines generally warns against such miserly behaviour of a person. A miser prioritizes accumulating wealth above all else, often denying themselves basic comforts and necessities to save money, which means they rarely use their wealth to improve their quality of life. It is better not to be miser and enjoy the life more freely with precaution.
