Shloka 40
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
कृच्छाल्लब्धमभिप्रेतं यदि कौसल्य नश्यति । तदा निर्विद्यते सो<्र्थात् परिभग्नक्रमो नर:
kṛcchāl labdham abhipretaṃ yadi kausaly naśyati | tadā nirvidyate so 'rthāt paribhagnakramo naraḥ || (anityāṃ tāṃ śriyaṃ matvā śriyaṃ vā kaḥ parīpsati |)
Bhishma dit : Ô roi de Kośala, si la richesse désirée, acquise au prix de grandes peines, vient à se perdre, alors la voie de l’effort d’un homme se brise ; il se dégoûte et se détourne de ce bien. Voyant que la prospérité est impermanente, qui donc voudrait encore la poursuivre comme but suprême ?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even hard-won wealth can be lost; when it perishes, a person’s momentum of striving collapses and disillusionment arises. Therefore prosperity (śrī) should be understood as impermanent and not treated as the highest goal.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs a king (addressed as the ruler of Kośala) on ethical and reflective governance. Here he uses the example of lost, hard-earned wealth to counsel sobriety, non-attachment, and a dharma-centered orientation rather than fixation on fortune.