Shloka 23
Vyāsa’s Counsel to the Concealed Pāṇḍavas; Śaṃkara’s Boon and the Predestination of Draupadī
Chapter 157
आहु: केचित् परं मोक्ष स च नास्ति कथंचन | अर्थप्राप्ती तु नरक: कृत्स्न एवोपपद्यते,कुछ लोग चारों पुरुषार्थोमें मोक्षको ही सर्वोत्तम बतलाते हैं, किंतु वह भी मेरे लिये किसी प्रकार सुलभ नहीं है। अर्थकी प्राप्ति होनेपर तो नरकका सम्पूर्ण दुःख भोगना ही पड़ता है
āhuḥ kecit paraṃ mokṣaḥ sa ca nāsti kathaṃcana | arthaprāptī tu narakaḥ kṛtsna evopapadyate ||
有人称解脱（mokṣa）为人之至上目标；然而于我而言，它无论如何都不可得。至于求取财富，则必然招致尽尝地狱般的苦楚——因为追逐与占有财物，往往使人系缚于非义之行及其果报。
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two aims: mokṣa and artha. It suggests that liberation, though praised as supreme, may feel inaccessible to one who is not prepared; and that the pursuit of wealth commonly entails moral compromise and karmic repercussions, figuratively described as 'hellish suffering.'
A Brahmin speaker reflects on the human goals (puruṣārthas), reporting what 'some people' claim about mokṣa, then expressing personal inability to reach it and warning that acquiring wealth tends to culminate in severe suffering (naraka) due to the ethical dangers surrounding artha.