अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing
विदितं भवतो वीर्य माहात्म्यं वेद आगमे । कुरुष्वेह यथाशान्ति ब्रह्मा शरणमस्तु ते
viditaṁ bhavato vīryaṁ māhātmyaṁ veda āgame | kuruṣveha yathāśānti brahmā śaraṇam astu te ||
Śaunaka sprach: „Deine Kraft ist wohlbekannt, und du verstehst auch—durch die Veden und die heilige Überlieferung—die Größe, die dort den Brāhmaṇas zugeschrieben wird. Handle daher hier in Ruhe und friedensuchend, damit die Brahmanengemeinschaft dir Zuflucht gewähren kann; möge Brahmā dein Schutz sein.“
शौनक उवाच
Power and reputation should be guided by śānti (peaceful restraint) and deference to dharma as known from Vedic and śāstric authority; one should act so as to earn the protection and goodwill of the Brahmin community, with reliance on divine refuge (Brahmā).
Śaunaka addresses the listener (a valorous person) acknowledging his known prowess and scriptural awareness, then urges him to proceed calmly and in a peace-oriented way so that the Brahmins may extend refuge, invoking Brahmā as protective shelter.