Shloka 43
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
पश्य तेषां कृपणतां पश्य तेषामबुद्धिताम् । अश्रुवे जीविते मोहादर्थदृष्टिमुपाश्रिता:,देखो, उनकी दीनता और देख लो उनकी मूर्खता, जो इस अनित्य जीवनके लिये मोहवश धनमें ही दृष्टि गड़ाये रहते हैं
paśya teṣāṁ kṛpaṇatāṁ paśya teṣām abuddhitām | aśruve jīvite mohād arthadṛṣṭim upāśritāḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Lihatlah kehinaan mereka; lihatlah tumpulnya budi mereka. Karena terpedaya oleh keterikatan pada hidup yang fana ini, mereka menambatkan pandangan hanya pada harta, menjadikannya satu-satunya pedoman.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma criticizes the spiritually impoverished mindset that, out of delusion about the fleeting nature of life, treats wealth as the sole measure of value. The ethical lesson is to cultivate discernment (buddhi) and orient one’s life toward dharma rather than mere accumulation.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous living after the war, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira with moral counsel. Here he points to certain people as examples of folly—those who, forgetting life’s impermanence, cling to material gain as their guiding aim.