Shloka 18
कालनियमः शोकशमनं च
Kāla as Regulator; Pacification of Grief
धनहेतोर्य ईहेत तस्यानीहा गरीयसी । भूयान् दोषो हि वित्तस्य यश्व धर्मस्तदाश्रय:,“जो धनके लिये चेष्टा करता है, उसका निश्रेष्ट होकर बैठ रहना ही ठीक है, क्योंकि धन और उसके आश्रित धर्ममें महान् दोष दिखायी देता है
dhanahetor ya īheta tasyānīhā garīyasī | bhūyān doṣo hi vittasya yaś ca dharmas tadāśrayaḥ ||
財を動機として努める者には、その努めをやめ、焦りの追求なく無為にとどまるほうが勝る。財には大いなる瑕疵があり、財に依るダルマでさえ、その瑕疵によって汚されるからである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effort driven primarily by the desire for wealth is ethically risky; non-acquisitive restraint is preferable because wealth tends to bring moral defects, and even righteous acts funded by wealth can become compromised by attachment, pride, exploitation, or impurity of means.
In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching that evaluates wealth-seeking behavior, warning that the pursuit of riches and wealth-dependent religiosity can be morally blemished, and recommending restraint from such pursuit.