Shloka 12
Āśramadharma and the Marks of the Muni
Yayāti–Aṣṭaka Saṃvāda
न जातु काम: कामानामुपभोगेन शाम्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते,“परंतु विषयोंकी कामना उन विषयोंके उपभोगसे कभी शान्त नहीं होती; अपितु घीकी आहुति पड़नेसे अग्निकी भाँति वह अधिकाधिक बढ़ती ही जाती है
na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāmyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇavartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Le désir des objets des sens ne s’apaise jamais véritablement en s’y livrant. Au contraire, tel un feu nourri d’oblations de ghee, il se rallume et croît sans cesse, toujours plus ardent.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Indulgence does not end craving; it strengthens it. The verse teaches restraint (dama) and discernment: feeding desire with enjoyment is like feeding fire with ghee—its intensity increases rather than subsides.
As narrator, Vaiśampāyana delivers a general moral maxim within the Adi Parva’s instructional storytelling, using a sacrificial-fire simile to caution that pursuit of pleasures leads to escalating desire.