Shloka 166
पञ्चवर्णोत्पत्तिः — The Origin of the Five-Colored Fiery Being and Ritual-Disruptor Lineages
न शवनुवन्ति ते भोक्तुं पश्य धर्मभूतां वर । धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ कौशिक! देखो, जिनके यहाँ भोजनका भण्डार भरा पड़ा है, उन्हें प्राय: संग्रहणी सता रही है, वे उसका उपभोग नहीं कर पाते
na śaknuvanti te bhoktuṃ paśya dharmabhūtāṃ vara | dharmātmāṇāṃ śreṣṭha kauśika paśya, yeṣāṃ gṛhe bhojanabhāṇḍāgāraṃ pūrṇaṃ tiṣṭhati, teṣāṃ prāyaḥ saṃgrahaṇī pīḍā vartate; te tad upabhoktuṃ na śaknuvanti ||
The hunter said: “They are not able to enjoy it—see this, O best among the righteous. O Kauśika, foremost among the virtuous, look: even those whose houses are filled with stores of food are often afflicted by a wasting digestive disorder, and so they cannot partake of what they have amassed.”
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
Material abundance does not guarantee enjoyment or well-being; hoarded resources can become futile when health fails. The verse urges a dharmic perspective: value right living and measured use over mere accumulation.
Vyādha instructs Kauśika by pointing to a moral observation: people with overflowing food stores are sometimes struck by a digestive illness and cannot eat what they possess, illustrating the limits of wealth and the need for dharma-guided conduct.