Shloka 27
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
परित्यागे न लभते ततो दुःखतरं नु किम् । न च तुष्यति लब्धेन भूय एव च मार्गति,“शरीरको निछावर कर देनेपर भी मनुष्य जब धन नहीं पाता है तो उसके लिये इससे बढ़कर महान् दुःख और क्या हो सकता है? यदि धनकी उपलब्धि हो भी जाय तो उतनेसे ही वह संतुष्ट नहीं होता है अपितु अधिक धनकी तलाश करने लग जाता है
parityāge na labhate tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim | na ca tuṣyati labdhena bhūya eva ca mārgati |
Wika ni Bhishma: “Kapag ang tao, kahit nagsakripisyo at nagbitiw ng napakarami, ay hindi pa rin nakakamit ang yaman, anong dalamhati pa ang hihigit doon? At kahit makamtan ang yaman, hindi siya nasisiyahan sa natamo; sa halip, patuloy siyang naghahanap ng higit pa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the self-perpetuating nature of desire for wealth: failure to gain it causes intense sorrow, yet even success does not bring contentment, because craving expands and seeks more. The ethical lesson is to cultivate satisfaction and restraint rather than letting acquisition become endless.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he reflects on the psychology of wealth-seeking—how sacrifice and effort may still not yield riches, and how even obtained wealth fails to satisfy—using it as moral counsel against unchecked greed.