Shloka 12
धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रनामावलिः (Roster of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Children) / Names of the Kauravas in Order
स्वल्पमेव यथा दत्तं दानं बहुगुणं भवेत् अधर्म एवं विप्रर्षे बहुदुः:खफलप्रद:,विप्रर्षे! जैसे थोड़ा-सा भी किया हुआ दान कई गुना फल देनेवाला होता है, वैसे ही अधर्म भी बहुत दुःखरूपी फल देनेवाला होता है
svalpam eva yathā dattaṃ dānaṃ bahuguṇaṃ bhavet | adharma evaṃ viprarṣe bahuduḥkhaphalapradaḥ ||
Dharma sprach: „O Bester der Brahmanen! Wie selbst eine kleine Gabe, wenn sie dargebracht wird, vielfachen Verdienst hervorbringen kann, so reift auch Unrecht — mag es noch so gering erscheinen — gewiss zu reichen Früchten des Leidens heran.“
धर्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions scale in consequence: even a small act of giving can multiply into great merit, and likewise even seemingly minor unrighteous conduct matures into extensive suffering. The verse stresses karmic causality and the need for vigilance in dharma.
Dharma is instructing a Brahmin seer (viprarṣi), using a moral analogy: the way charity yields multiplied reward, adharma yields multiplied pain. The statement functions as ethical counsel within the Adi Parva’s didactic discourse.