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 ||
Bhishma dit : De même que la corne d’une vache grandit avec le veau au fil du temps et de sa maturité, de même la soif du désir grandit quand la richesse augmente. L’enseignement est que l’accumulation n’apporte pas naturellement le contentement ; sans retenue, la prospérité devient le combustible d’un désir toujours croissant.
भीष्म उवाच
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.