Shloka 20
Kośa-saṃjanana and Subtle Dharma
Treasury Formation and Fine-Grained Ethics
स शेषकारिणतस्तत्र शेषं पश्यन्ति सर्वश: | नि:शेषकारिणो नित्यं नि:शेषकरणाद् भयम्
sa śeṣa-kāriṇatas tatra śeṣaṃ paśyanti sarvaśaḥ | niḥśeṣa-kāriṇo nityaṃ niḥśeṣa-karaṇād bhayam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ceux qui, en prenant la richesse d’autrui, en laissent quelque reste, en viennent à voir que, pour eux aussi, des restes se conservent de toutes parts. Mais ceux qui n’en laissent jamais—ceux qui dépouillent entièrement—vivent sans cesse dans la crainte que leur propre richesse ne soit, elle aussi, épuisée jusqu’au néant».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moderation and restraint in taking from others protects one’s own security: leaving something for others reduces retaliation and karmic/social backlash, whereas total plunder breeds constant fear of total loss.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira through a general maxim: how one treats others’ property shapes one’s own stability—restraint leads to preservation, ruthless taking leads to anxiety and ruin.