Shloka 5
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
अलब्धस्य कथं लिप्सा लब्धं केन विवर्धते । वर्धितं पाल्यते केन पालितं प्रणयेत् कथम्
bhīṣma uvāca | alabdhasya kathaṃ lipsā labdhaṃ kena vivardhate | vardhitaṃ pālyate kena pālitaṃ praṇayet katham |
Bhishma sagte: „Wie entstehen Verlangen und Mittel, das zu erlangen, was noch nicht erlangt ist? Wodurch wächst erworbenes Vermögen? Durch wen oder wodurch wird vermehrtes Vermögen geschützt? Und wenn es geschützt ist, wie soll dieses Vermögen recht geleitet und richtig verwendet werden?“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma outlines a fourfold ethical inquiry about artha (resources/wealth): (1) how to seek and obtain what is lacking, (2) how to increase what is obtained, (3) how to protect what has grown, and (4) how to employ protected wealth in a proper, dharmic way—implying that wealth is meaningful only when acquired, managed, and used under dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira. Here he frames the discussion by posing sequential questions about the lifecycle of wealth—acquisition, growth, protection, and righteous utilization—setting up guidance on prudent and ethical statecraft and household management.