Shloka 27
तस्य धर्मार्थहीनस्य कामान्ते निधन ध्रुवम् । कामतो रममाणस्य मीनस्येवाम्भस: क्षये,“जैसे पानी सूख जानेपर उसमें रहनेवाली मछलीकी मृत्यु निश्चित है, उसी प्रकार जो धर्म-अर्थसे हीन होकर केवल काममें ही रमण करता है, उस काम (भोगसामग्री)-की समाप्ति होनेपर उसकी भी अवश्य मृत्यु हो जाती है
tasya dharmārthahīnasya kāmānte nidhanaṃ dhruvam | kāmato ramamāṇasya mīnasyevāmbhasaḥ kṣaye ||
For one who is bereft of dharma and artha, death is certain at the end of kāma. He who revels only in pleasure perishes when his enjoyments are exhausted, like a fish that surely dies when the water dries up.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A life centered only on kāma (pleasure) while neglecting dharma (ethical duty) and artha (stable means/resources) is self-destructive: when pleasures or their supports end, ruin follows inevitably.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a moral warning using a vivid simile: as a fish cannot survive without water, a person who lives only for enjoyment cannot endure once the conditions for enjoyment are exhausted.