अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing
विदितं भवतो वीर्य माहात्म्यं वेद आगमे । कुरुष्वेह यथाशान्ति ब्रह्मा शरणमस्तु ते
viditaṁ bhavato vīryaṁ māhātmyaṁ veda āgame | kuruṣveha yathāśānti brahmā śaraṇam astu te ||
Sinabi ni Śaunaka: “Kilala ang iyong lakas, at nauunawaan mo rin—sa pamamagitan ng Veda at banal na tradisyon—ang kadakilaan na iniuukol sa mga Brāhmaṇa. Kaya kumilos ka rito nang payapa at may hangaring kapayapaan, upang ang pamayanang Brāhmaṇa ay makapagkaloob sa iyo ng kanlungan; nawa’y si Brahmā ang maging iyong sandigan.”
शौनक उवाच
Power and reputation should be guided by śānti (peaceful restraint) and deference to dharma as known from Vedic and śāstric authority; one should act so as to earn the protection and goodwill of the Brahmin community, with reliance on divine refuge (Brahmā).
Śaunaka addresses the listener (a valorous person) acknowledging his known prowess and scriptural awareness, then urges him to proceed calmly and in a peace-oriented way so that the Brahmins may extend refuge, invoking Brahmā as protective shelter.