Shloka 10
Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः
लोभप्रभवमज्ञानं वृद्ध भूय: प्रवर्धते । स्थाने स्थान क्षये क्षैण्यमुपैति विविधां गतिम्
lobhaprabhavam ajñānaṁ vṛddha bhūyaḥ pravardhate | sthāne sthāna-kṣaye kṣaiṇyam upaiti vividhāṁ gatim |
Bhīṣma dit : L’ignorance naît de la cupidité, et plus la cupidité grandit, plus cette ignorance s’accroît. Tant que la cupidité demeure, l’ignorance subsiste ; et lorsque la cupidité s’épuise, l’ignorance aussi décroît. Poussé par la cupidité et l’ignorance, l’être incarné passe par de multiples voies d’existence, renaissant dans des matrices diverses.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed (lobha) is presented as a root-cause that generates and nourishes ignorance (ajñāna). As greed intensifies, discernment is further obscured; when greed is reduced, ignorance correspondingly diminishes. Therefore, ethical self-restraint and the curbing of greed are framed as practical means toward clarity and liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by analyzing inner causes of bondage. Here he explains the causal chain by which lobha sustains ajñāna and, together, they propel the jīva through diverse births and destinies (vividhā gati).