Shloka 26

Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna

Utility Gifts

Devanagari script

हृतं कृपणवित्तं हि राष्ट्र हन्ति नृपश्रियम्‌ । दद्याच्च महतो भोगान्‌ क्षुद्धयं प्रणुदेत्‌ सताम्‌

Transliteration

hṛtaṃ kṛpaṇa-vittaṃ hi rāṣṭraṃ hanti nṛpa-śriyam | dadyāc ca mahato bhogān kṣudhyaṃ praṇudet satām ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wahrlich, Reichtum, der den Bedürftigen entrissen wird, vernichtet das Reich und den Wohlstand des Königs. Darum soll ein Herrscher den Armen ihr Eigentum nicht nehmen; vielmehr soll er ihnen reichliche Mittel zum Leben und Genießen gewähren und das Leid des Hungers von den Tugendhaften vertreiben.“

Word by Word

• {'hṛtam': 'taken away, seized, stolen', 'kṛpaṇa': 'poor, wretched, destitute

• also ‘miserly’ depending on context', 'vittam': 'wealth, property, money', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'rāṣṭram': 'kingdom, realm, state', 'hanti': 'destroys, strikes down', 'nṛpa-śriyam': 'the king’s prosperity/fortune/royal splendor', 'dadyāt': 'should give, ought to bestow', 'ca': 'and', 'mahataḥ': 'great, abundant', 'bhogān': 'enjoyments, comforts, provisions', 'kṣudhyām': 'hunger

• the distress of hunger', 'praṇudet': 'should drive away, remove, ward off', 'satām': 'of the good/virtuous/noble persons'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• king (nṛpa)
• kingdom (rāṣṭra)
• the poor/destitute (kṛpaṇa)
• the virtuous (sat)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler must not enrich the state by exploiting the poor; confiscating a destitute person’s wealth undermines the kingdom’s stability and the king’s fortune. True royal duty is protective generosity—ensuring people’s basic needs, especially freedom from hunger.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, especially the duties of kings. Here he warns against taking the wealth of the impoverished and urges the king to provide comforts and prevent hunger among the worthy.