Shloka 27
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
परित्यागे न लभते ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् । न च तुष्यति लब्धेन भूय एव च मार्गति
parityāge na labhate tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim | na ca tuṣyati labdhena bhūya eva ca mārgati |
Bhishma said: “When a man, even after making sacrifices and giving up so much, still fails to obtain wealth, what sorrow could be greater than that? And even if wealth is gained, he is not satisfied with what he has obtained; instead, he goes on seeking still more.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the self-perpetuating nature of desire for wealth: failure to gain it causes intense sorrow, yet even success does not bring contentment, because craving expands and seeks more. The ethical lesson is to cultivate satisfaction and restraint rather than letting acquisition become endless.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he reflects on the psychology of wealth-seeking—how sacrifice and effort may still not yield riches, and how even obtained wealth fails to satisfy—using it as moral counsel against unchecked greed.