Shloka 7
धन-यज्ञ-दानविवेकः
Wealth, Sacrifice, and Disciplined Giving
ईहेत धनहेतोर्यस्तस्यानीहा गरीयसी । भूयान् दोषो हि वर्धेत यस्तं धनमुपाश्रयेत्,'जो धनके लिये विशेष चेष्टा करता है, वह वैसी चेष्टा न करे--यही सबसे अच्छा है; क्योंकि जो उस धनकी उपासना करने लगता है, उसके महान् दोषकी वृद्धि होती है
īheta dhanahetor yas tasyānīhā garīyasī | bhūyān doṣo hi vardheta yas taṃ dhanam upāśrayet ||
Devastāna said: “If someone strives with the aim of gaining wealth, it is better for him to refrain from such striving. For when a person begins to depend upon and ‘worship’ that wealth, a great fault grows ever stronger within him.”
देवस्थान उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that wealth-seeking effort, when it becomes a basis of dependence and reverence, nourishes inner दोष (moral fault). Therefore, restraint and non-attachment (anīhā) are presented as ethically superior to relentless pursuit of धन.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Devastāna delivers counsel on right conduct, contrasting the pursuit of wealth with the safer path of restraint, and explaining the moral danger of taking wealth as one’s refuge.