Shloka 12
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
न संत्यजन्त्यात्मकर्म यो न जीर्य॑ति जीर्यत: । यो न पूरयितुं शक्यो लोभ: प्राप्त्या कुरूद्गबह
na santyajantyātmakarma yo na jīryati jīryataḥ | yo na pūrayituṃ śakyo lobhaḥ prāptyā kurūdgbaha ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Kahit tumanda ang tao, hindi niya iniiwan ang sariling nakagawiang pag-uugali; at ang kasakiman, O tagapagdala ng angkan ng Kuru, ay hindi napupuno o nasisiyahan sa pamamagitan lamang ng pagkamal. Ang aral: hindi kusang ginagamot ng edad ang pagkakapit, at ang pagkuha ay lalo lamang nagpapakain sa pagnanasa sa halip na magwakas ito.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed is intrinsically insatiable: no amount of acquisition can ‘fill’ it. Therefore ethical life requires restraint and discernment, not the hope that more possessions or successes will end craving.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline after the war. Here he warns that even old age does not automatically loosen one’s habitual pursuits, and that greed persists unless consciously checked.