Shloka 19
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
यदि नाहं विनाश्यस्ते यद्येवं रमसे मया । मा मां योजय लोभेन वृथा त्वं वित्तकामुक
yadi nāhaṃ vināśyas te yad evaṃ ramase mayā | mā māṃ yojaya lobhena vṛthā tvaṃ vittakāmuka ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn du nicht meinen Untergang willst—wenn du wahrhaft mit mir so verweilen möchtest, in Genügsamkeit—dann spanne mich nicht vergeblich vor die Gier, o Geist, der nach Reichtum lechzt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches vigilance against lobha (greed): if the mind seeks genuine well-being and inner peace, it must not drag the person into fruitless craving for wealth, which leads to spiritual and ethical ruin.
In the didactic setting of the Shanti Parva, Bhishma speaks in a reflective, admonitory tone, addressing the mind directly as ‘wealth-craving,’ warning it not to bind him to greed if it truly wishes to remain in harmonious companionship.