Shloka 9
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
दुष्करं बत कुर्वन्ति महतो<र्थास्त्यजन्ति ये । वयं त्वेतान् परित्यक्तुमसतो5पि न शकक्नुम:
duṣkaraṃ bata kurvanti mahato 'rthās tyajanti ye | vayaṃ tv etān parityaktum asato 'pi na śaknūmaḥ ||
По моему разумению, те, кто отрекается от великого богатства, совершают дело чрезвычайно трудное. А я, хотя ныне у меня почти ничего не осталось, всё же не могу оставить привязанность к нему.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Renouncing external wealth is difficult, but even more revealing is that attachment can persist without possessions; true renunciation is primarily an inner release from craving and identification with ‘mine’.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma reflects on the power of attachment: he praises those who can give up great riches and admits how hard it is to abandon the very tendency to cling, even when one has little or nothing.