Shloka 24
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
यः कृशार्थ: कृशगव: कृशभृत्य: कृशातिथि: । स वै राजन् कृशो नाम न शरीरकृश: कृश:
yaḥ kṛśārthaḥ kṛśagavaḥ kṛśabhṛtyaḥ kṛśātithiḥ | sa vai rājan kṛśo nāma na śarīrakṛśaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
হে রাজন! যার সম্পদ অল্প, যার গাভী অল্প, যার ভৃত্য অল্প, এবং যার গৃহে অতিথির আগমনও বিরল—সেই-ই প্রকৃত অর্থে ‘কৃশ’ (দীন/ক্ষীণ) নামে অভিহিত হওয়ার যোগ্য। কেবল দেহে শুকনো হলেই কেউ ‘কৃশ’ হয় না।
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse redefines ‘weakness’ as social and economic diminishment rather than mere bodily thinness: true ‘kṛśatā’ is the loss of means, cattle, dependents, and the flow of guests—markers of prosperity, responsibility, and dharmic household life.
Arjuna addresses a king and clarifies a moral distinction: he argues that the term ‘kṛśa’ should be applied to one whose household and resources have withered (wealth, cattle, servants, hospitality), not simply to someone who is physically lean.