Shloka 43
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
विश्वामित्र उवाच काम कामयमानस्य यदा काम: समृध्यते । अथैनमपर: कामस्तृष्णाविध्यति बाणवत्
Viśvāmitra uvāca: kāmaṁ kāmayamānasya yadā kāmaḥ samṛdhyate | athainam aparaḥ kāmas tṛṣṇā-vidhyati bāṇavat ||
Dijo Viśvāmitra: Cuando quien ansía los placeres ve cumplido un deseo, otro deseo surge en su lugar. Así, la codicia hiere la mente una y otra vez, como una flecha—mostrando que la indulgencia no pone fin a la carencia, sino que la multiplica.
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fulfilling one desire does not end desire; it generates further desires. Therefore craving (tṛṣṇā) is inherently insatiable and repeatedly wounds the mind, implying the need for restraint and discernment.
Viśvāmitra is delivering a moral instruction: he uses a vivid simile—craving as an arrow—to explain the psychological cycle in which satisfaction of one wish immediately gives rise to another.