aashaapaashashatairbaddhaahaa kaamakrodhaparaayanaahaa |
eehante kaamabhogaarthamanyaayenaarthasanchayaan || 12 ||
 
Bound by hundred ropes of desires, oriented towards desire and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth by unjust means for sensual consumption.
 
aashaapaashaha : ropes of desires
shataihi : hundreds
baddhaahaa : boumd
kaama : desire
krodha : anger
paraayanaahaa : oriented
eehante : strive
kaamabhogaartham : sensual consumption
anyaayena : unjust
arthasanchayaan : accumulation of wealth
 
Every selfish desire carries a seed of anxiety within it, as we have seen. Shri Krishna says that such desires harm us in another manner. We develop attachment towards the desire, we are bound. It is as if a paasha, a lasso, a rope is tied around us on one end, and the desire on the other. Just like a cowboy puts a lasso around a horse and makes it obey his instructions, each desire makes us into a slave, makes us dance to its tune.
 
If this is our plight, what to talk of highly materialistic individuals.They have not one but hundreds of such ropes to bind them. If one desire is fulfilled, they have several others waiting in line. If a desire does not get fulfilled, it generates anger and agitation, causing them to inflict harm and pain upon themselves and upon others. They fall into a vicious cycle of desire, anger and greed which, given that they subscribe only to a materialistic viewpoint, is almost impossible to get out of.
 
So if one is continually plagued by hundreds of desires, and has a narrow outlook towards the world, what is his solution? It is money, it is accumulation of wealth, artha sanchaayan. But, in order to fulfill the infinite desires that are pulling him in several directions, there arises a need to generate wealth beyond what is legally and ethically possible. Therefore, he resorts to making money using any means necessary, legal or illegal.