Shloka 1
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
है ० बक। ] अतडि्ऑशाड< सप्तसप्तत्याधेकशततमोब< ध्याय: मड्किगीता--धनकी तृष्णासे दु:ख और उसकी कामनाके त्यागसे परम सुखकी प्राप्ति युधिछिर उवाच ईहमान: समारम्भान् यदि नासादयेद् धनम् | धनतृष्णाभिभूतश्न कि कुर्वन् सुखमाप्नुयात्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | īhamānaḥ samārambhān yadi nāsādayed dhanam | dhanatṛṣṇābhibhūtaś ca kiṃ kurvan sukham āpnuyāt ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「ああ、尊き祖父よ。富への渇望に押し伏せられた者が、さまざまな努力と事業に取りかかっても、なお財を得られぬなら、その者は何をなして幸福に至るべきでしょうか。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: happiness cannot be secured merely by relentless economic striving, especially when one is driven by craving (dhanatṛṣṇā). It sets up the teaching that inner freedom from greed and right orientation of desire are central to lasting well-being.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the grandsire Bhīṣma with a practical moral problem: a person, consumed by desire for wealth, makes many attempts but fails—what path should he take to attain happiness?