Shloka 20
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
संचितं संचितं द्रव्यं नष्टं तव पुनः पुनः । कदाचिन्मोक्ष्यसे मूढ धनेहां धनकामुक
sañcitaṃ sañcitaṃ dravyaṃ naṣṭaṃ tava punaḥ punaḥ | kadācin mokṣyase mūḍha dhanehāṃ dhanakāmuka ||
Bhīṣma said: “Again and again you have amassed wealth, and again and again it has been lost. O deluded one, O seeker of riches—will you ever relinquish this craving and restless striving for wealth?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth is unstable and repeatedly lost; therefore one should recognize the futility of endless accumulation and cultivate detachment by abandoning obsessive craving and ceaseless pursuit of riches.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on right conduct, Bhīṣma admonishes a wealth-obsessed person, pointing out the repeated cycle of hoarding and loss and urging a turning away from greed toward inner freedom.