Shloka 54
Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel
न लोभादर्थसम्पत्तिर्नराणामिह दृश्यते । तदलं तात लोभेन प्रशाम्य भरतर्षभ
na lobhād arthasampattir narāṇām iha dṛśyate | tad alaṃ tāta lobhena praśāmya bharatarṣabha ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—तात! इस संसार में केवल लोभ से मनुष्यों को सच्ची समृद्धि प्राप्त होती नहीं दिखती। अतः लोभ को यहीं रोक दो, हे भरतश्रेष्ठ! शांत होओ और पाण्डवों के साथ संधि कर लो।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed is not a reliable means to prosperity; it destabilizes judgment and leads to conflict. The verse urges restraint of lobha and recommends reconciliation as the dharmic and practical course.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, a speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) admonishes a Bharata prince to abandon greed and to conclude a peace (sandhi) with the Pāṇḍavas rather than push matters toward war.