Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 30

Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra

Devanagari script

आशगया संचितं द्रव्यं दुःखेनैवोपभुज्यते । तद्‌ बुधा न प्रशंसन्ति मरणं न प्रतीक्षते

Transliteration

āśayā saṃcitaṃ dravyaṃ duḥkhenaivopabhujyate | tad budhā na praśaṃsanti maraṇaṃ na pratīkṣate ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：为满足某种特定欲望而怀着希冀囤积的财富，终究只会在忧苦中被享用。因此智者不称许此等积聚，因为死亡从不等待人愿望圆满之时。

Word by Word

• {'āśayā': 'with hope

• with expectation (instrumental of āśā/āśaya)', 'saṃcitam': 'accumulated

• hoarded', 'dravyaṃ': 'wealth

• material resources', 'duḥkhena': 'with suffering

• with distress', 'eva': 'indeed

• emphatically', 'upabhujyate': 'is enjoyed/consumed

• is experienced (passive)', 'tat': 'that

• such (wealth/act)', 'budhāḥ': 'the wise

• discerning persons', 'na': 'not', 'praśaṃsanti': 'praise

• approve', 'maraṇam': 'death', 'na pratīkṣate': 'does not wait

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• death (maraṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not hoard wealth merely to satisfy future desires; such enjoyment tends to be burdened by anxiety and suffering, and death may arrive before one’s plans mature. The wise therefore value timely, dharmic use of resources and inner detachment over anxious accumulation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he warns against storing wealth under the spell of wishful expectation, emphasizing the uncertainty of life and the urgency of living wisely.