Shloka 40
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
निर्वेदमहमासाद्य द्रव्यनाशाद् यदृच्छया । निर्वत्तिं परमां प्राप्प नाद्य कामान् विचिन्तये
nirvedam aham āsādya dravyanāśād yadṛcchayā | nirvṛttiṁ paramāṁ prāpya nādya kāmān vicintaye ||
अकस्मात् धन का नाश हो जाने से मुझे वैराग्य प्राप्त हुआ और परम शान्ति-तृप्ति मिली। अब मैं भोग-विलास का चिन्तन नहीं करूँगा।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly wealth is unstable; when attachment to it breaks, one can awaken to nirveda (disenchantment) and attain nirvṛtti (inner cessation/peace). Ethical life is strengthened when the mind stops chasing kāma (sense-pleasures) and rests in contentment.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Śānti Parva, he speaks in the first person to illustrate a moral insight: an unexpected loss of wealth became the occasion for dispassion, leading him to supreme tranquility and a resolve not to dwell on pleasures.