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Shloka 7

नारद-समङ्ग-संवादः — The Nārada–Samaṅga Dialogue on Fearlessness and Equanimity

यथैव श्‌ज् गो: काले वर्धमानस्य वर्धते । तथैव तृष्णा वित्तेन वर्धमानेन वर्धते

yathaiva śṛṅgaṃ goḥ kāle vardhamānasya vardhate | tathaiva tṛṣṇā vittena vardhamānena vardhate ||

Dijo Bhishma: Así como el cuerno de una vaca crece con el ternero a medida que pasa el tiempo y madura, así también la avidez crece cuando la riqueza crece. La enseñanza es que la acumulación no trae por sí sola contento; sin freno, la prosperidad se vuelve combustible para un deseo que no deja de expandirse.

यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
एवindeed/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
गोःof a cow (bovine)
गोः:
Sambandha
TypeNoun
Rootगो
Formfeminine, genitive, singular
कालेin time/at the proper time
काले:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootकाल
Formmasculine, locative, singular
वर्धमानस्यof (one) growing
वर्धमानस्य:
Sambandha
TypeAdjective
Rootवर्धमान
Formmasculine, genitive, singular
वर्धतेgrows/increases
वर्धते:
TypeVerb
Rootवृध्
Formpresent, ātmanepada, third, singular, indicative
तथाso/in the same way
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
एवindeed/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
तृष्णाcraving/greed
तृष्णा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootतृष्णा
Formfeminine, nominative, singular
वित्तेनby/with wealth
वित्तेन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootवित्त
Formneuter, instrumental, singular
वर्धमानेनby (wealth) that is increasing
वर्धमानेन:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootवर्धमान
Formneuter, instrumental, singular
वर्धतेgrows/increases
वर्धते:
TypeVerb
Rootवृध्
Formpresent, ātmanepada, third, singular, indicative

भीष्म उवाच

B
Bhīṣma
C
cow (go)
H
horn (śṛṅga)
W
wealth (vitta)
C
craving (tṛṣṇā)

Educational Q&A

Desire is not satisfied by acquiring more; it tends to expand with increased wealth. Therefore, ethical life requires restraint (dama), contentment (santoṣa), and discernment, rather than trusting accumulation to end craving.

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. Here he uses a simple rural analogy—how a horn grows with the calf—to illustrate a moral psychology: wealth often makes craving grow, not shrink.