Shloka 21
Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa
अज्ञानप्रभवो लोभो भूतानां दृश्यते सदा । अस्थिरत्वं च भोगानां दृष्टवा ज्ञात्वा निवर्तते,प्राणियोंका भोगोंके प्रति जो लोभ देखा जाता है, वह अज्ञानके ही कारण है। भोगोंकी क्षणभड्भुरताको देखने और जाननेसे उसकी निवृत्ति हो जाती है
ajñānaprabhavo lobho bhūtānāṃ dṛśyate sadā | asthiratvaṃ ca bhogānāṃ dṛṣṭvā jñātvā nivartate ||
Bhīṣma said: Greed, born of ignorance, is always seen among living beings. But when one clearly sees and understands the instability and fleeting nature of sense-enjoyments, that greed subsides and one turns back from them.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed arises from ignorance. When a person gains discernment by seeing and understanding that pleasures are unstable and short-lived, the mind naturally withdraws and greed diminishes.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues his ethical teaching, diagnosing the root of human craving (ignorance) and prescribing insight into the impermanence of enjoyments as the remedy.