Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
आशगया संचितं द्रव्यं कालेनैवोपभुज्यते । अन््ये चैतत् प्रपद्यन्ते वियोगे तस्य देहिन:
āśayā saṃcitaṃ dravyaṃ kālenaivopabhujyate | anye caitat prapadyante viyoge tasya dehinaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Wealth amassed under the spell of hope is, in truth, consumed by Time alone. When the embodied person is separated from the body, that very wealth passes into the hands of others—showing how futile possessiveness is and how urgent right use of resources becomes while one still lives.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hoarded wealth does not truly belong to the hoarder: Time inevitably consumes it, and after death it goes to others. Therefore one should restrain greed and use wealth righteously while alive—through dharmic living, generosity, and purposeful expenditure.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he offers a reflective maxim on the fate of accumulated riches: what is gathered with hopeful attachment is ultimately taken over by Time, and once the person dies, others inherit or seize the property.