Dhammapada verse 235
Chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga) · verses 235–255
“Today you’re like a withered leaf, Yama’s men await you. You stand at the departure gates, yet you have no supplies for the road.”
Paṇḍupalāsova dānisi, Yamapurisāpi ca te upaṭṭhitā; Uyyogamukhe ca tiṭṭhasi, Pātheyyampi ca te na vijjati.
English by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, via SuttaCentral)
What does Dhammapada verse 235 mean?
Verse 235 belongs to chapter 18, Stains (Malavagga), which gathers verses 235–255 on stains and their removal. It is filed under no theme. Read it with the verses around it: the Dhammapada arranges chapters as short runs, not as isolated lines, so verse 234 and verse 236 are part of the same passage.
Twenty-one verses on stains — the defilements as dirt on a surface that can be cleaned. The chapter lists the specific stains it means, including hardness, carelessness, deceit and jealousy, and it treats purity not as innocence but as the result of scrubbing.