Shloka 7
नारद-समङ्ग-संवादः — The Nārada–Samaṅga Dialogue on Fearlessness and Equanimity
यथैव श्ज् गो: काले वर्धमानस्य वर्धते । तथैव तृष्णा वित्तेन वर्धमानेन वर्धते
yathaiva śṛṅgaṃ goḥ kāle vardhamānasya vardhate | tathaiva tṛṣṇā vittena vardhamānena vardhate ||
Bhishma berkata: Seperti tanduk lembu yang membesar bersama anak lembu apabila masa berlalu dan ia matang, demikian juga keinginan (tanha) membesar seiring dengan harta apabila harta bertambah. Ajarannya ialah: pengumpulan tidak dengan sendirinya membawa kepuasan; tanpa pengendalian diri, kemakmuran menjadi bahan bakar bagi nafsu yang kian mengembang.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire is not satisfied by acquiring more; it tends to expand with increased wealth. Therefore, ethical life requires restraint (dama), contentment (santoṣa), and discernment, rather than trusting accumulation to end craving.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. Here he uses a simple rural analogy—how a horn grows with the calf—to illustrate a moral psychology: wealth often makes craving grow, not shrink.