Shloka 44
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
(भत्रिरुवाच न जातु काम: कामनामुपभोगेन शाम्यति । हविषा कृष्णवर्त्मेव भूय एवाभिवर्धते ।।
atrir uvāca—na jātu kāmaḥ kāmānām upabhogena śāmyati | haviṣā kṛṣṇavartmeva bhūya evābhivardhate || jagadagnir uvāca—pratigrahe saṃyamo vai tapo dhārayate dhruvam | tad dhanaṃ brāhmaṇasyeha lubhyamānasya visravet ||
अत्री म्हणाले—विषयांचा उपभोग घेतल्याने कामना कधीही शांत होत नाही; घृताहुतीने जशी अग्नी अधिकच भडकते, तशी ती आणखी वाढते. जमदग्नी म्हणाले—प्रतिग्रह न केल्याने ब्राह्मणाचा संयम आणि तप निश्चयाने टिकून राहतात. तप हेच येथे ब्राह्मणाचे खरे धन आहे; जो लौकिक धनासाठी लोभ करतो, त्याचे तप-धन झिरपत जाऊन नष्ट होते.
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Indulgence does not extinguish desire; it intensifies it, like fire growing when fed with ghee. Therefore, restraint—especially a brāhmaṇa’s restraint from accepting gifts and from greed—is presented as essential to preserve tapas, which is declared to be the brāhmaṇa’s true wealth.
Within a didactic sequence of teachings in Anuśāsana-parvan, sages’ voices are cited: Atri offers a moral analogy about desire, and Jagadagni follows with a rule of conduct for brāhmaṇas—warning that accepting gifts and craving worldly wealth undermines self-control and causes one’s accumulated austerity to dissipate.