Shloka 46

Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga

Non-attachment

Devanagari script

धर्ममर्थनिमित्तं च चरेयुर्यत्र मानवा: । न ताननुवसेज्जातु ते हि पापकृतो जना:,जहाँके मनुष्य धनके लिये धर्मका अनुष्ठान करते हों, वहाँ उनके पास कदापि न रहे; क्योंकि वे सब-के सब पापाचारी होते हैं

Transliteration

dharmam artha-nimittaṃ ca careyur yatra mānavāḥ | na tān anuvasej jātu te hi pāpa-kṛto janāḥ ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: Wo Menschen Dharma nur als Mittel zum Erwerb von Reichtum üben, soll man niemals unter ihnen wohnen; denn solche sind Täter der Sünde, ihr Wandel ist durch eigennützige Absicht verdorben, nicht durch Rechtschaffenheit.

Word by Word

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness (as an object of practice)

अर्थ-निमित्तम्for the sake of wealth (wealth-motivated)

चand

चरेयुःwould practice / should practice

यत्रwhere

मानवाःpeople, men

नnot

तान्them

अनुवसेत्should dwell near / should stay with

जातुever, at any time

तेthey

हिindeed, for

पाप-कृतःsin-doing, wicked

जनाःpeople

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

mānavāḥ (people)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma loses its moral force when performed merely for profit; one should avoid the company of those who instrumentalize righteousness for wealth, since such motivation tends toward sin and corruption.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada offers a counsel about discernment in association: he identifies a social setting where people outwardly perform dharma but inwardly aim at wealth, and advises the listener not to live among such people.