Shloka 21
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
अपि चेन्महतो वित्तान्न प्रमुच्येत पूरुष: । नैतन्ममेति तन्मत्वा कुर्वीत प्रियमात्मन:
api cen mahato vittān na pramucyeta pūruṣaḥ | na etan mama iti tan matvā kurvīta priyam ātmanaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kahit hindi mahiwalay ang tao sa malaking kayamanan, dapat pa rin niyang maunawaan, ‘Hindi ito tunay na akin,’ at sa pagkaunawang iyon, kumilos para sa pinakamataas na kabutihan ng sarili.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when wealth remains with a person, one should cultivate non-possessiveness—seeing wealth as not truly ‘mine’—and thereby pursue one’s real welfare, i.e., righteous and spiritually beneficial conduct rather than attachment-driven living.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right living, Bhishma advises the listener that inner renunciation is essential: external possession of wealth need not be abandoned, but the sense of ownership should be, so that one acts for lasting good.