Shloka 44
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
(भत्रिरुवाच न जातु काम: कामनामुपभोगेन शाम्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते ।।) अत्रि बोले--भोगोंकी कामना उनके उपभोगसे कभी नहीं शान्त होती है। अपितु घीकी आहुति पड़नेपर प्रज्वलित होनेवाली आगकी भाँति वह और भी बढ़ती ही जाती है।। जगदग्निरुवाच प्रतिग्रहे संयमो वै तपो धारयते ध्रुवम् । तद् धन ब्राह्मणस्येह लुभ्यमानस्य विस्रवेत्,जमदग्निने कहा--प्रतिग्रह न लेनेसे ही ब्राह्मण अपनी तपस्याको सुरक्षित रख सकता है। तपस्या ही ब्राह्मणका धन है। जो लौकिक धनके लिये लोभ करता है, उसका तपरूपी धन नष्ट हो जाता है
atrir uvāca—na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāmyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇavartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate || jagadagnir uvāca—pratigrahe saṃyamo vai tapo dhārayate dhruvam | tad dhanaṃ brāhmaṇasyeha lubhyamānasya visravet ||
Atri said: Desire is never truly quenched by indulging in the objects of desire; like a fire fed with ghee, it only blazes up all the more. Jagadagni said: By refraining from accepting gifts, a brāhmaṇa surely preserves self-restraint and thereby safeguards his austerity. Austerity is the brāhmaṇa’s true wealth here; but for one who becomes greedy for worldly riches, that wealth of tapas drains away and is lost.
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Indulgence does not extinguish desire; it intensifies it, like fire growing when fed with ghee. Therefore, restraint—especially a brāhmaṇa’s restraint from accepting gifts and from greed—is presented as essential to preserve tapas, which is declared to be the brāhmaṇa’s true wealth.
Within a didactic sequence of teachings in Anuśāsana-parvan, sages’ voices are cited: Atri offers a moral analogy about desire, and Jagadagni follows with a rule of conduct for brāhmaṇas—warning that accepting gifts and craving worldly wealth undermines self-control and causes one’s accumulated austerity to dissipate.