Shloka 42
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
जीवितं संत्यजन्त्येके धनलोभपरा जना: । न जीवितार्थ मन्यन्ते पुरुषा हि धनादृते
jīvitaṁ saṁtyajanty eke dhanalobhaparā janāḥ | na jīvitārthaṁ manyante puruṣā hi dhanād ṛte ||
ビーシュマは語った。「富への貪欲に駆られて、命さえ投げ出す者がいる。そのような者は、財を離れては生の目的を見いださず、まるで金銭に結びついてこそ命に意味があるかのように思うのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that obsession with wealth can become so extreme that people sacrifice even life itself, mistaking money for the sole purpose of living; the ethical lesson is to recognize wealth as a means, not the ultimate end, and to guard against lobha (greed) that destroys discernment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira by describing a common moral failing: people who are so attached to wealth that they disregard the true aims of life and even risk death for gain.