Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 33
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
स नो दास्यति सुप्रीतो धनानि बहुलान्युत । कि नो मांसेन शुष्केण परिक्लिप्टेन शोषिणा
sa no dāsyati suprīto dhanāni bahulāny uta | ki no māṁsena śuṣkeṇa parikl̥iptena śoṣiṇā ||
Санджая сказал: «Будучи нами доволен, он непременно одарит нас обильным богатством. Зачем же понапрасну терпеть тяготы, таская это сухое мясо, что лишь иссушает тело и истощает его жизненные соки?»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the lure of reward can make people rationalize abandoning endurance and restraint; it implicitly critiques greed-driven thinking that treats bodily strain and moral cost as expendable when profit seems assured.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s calculation: since a benefactor is expected to be very pleased and grant abundant wealth, they question the point of continuing to carry dried meat that causes physical depletion, framing the burden as needless suffering.