Shloka 23

Devanagari script

नाधनो धर्मकृत्यानि यथावदनुतिष्ठति । धनाद्धि धर्म: स्रवति शैलादभि नदी यथा,निर्धन मनुष्य धार्मिक कृत्योंका अच्छी तरह अनुष्ठान नहीं कर सकता। जैसे पर्वतसे नदी झरती रहती है, उसी प्रकार धनसे ही धर्मका स्रोत बहता रहता है

Transliteration

nādhano dharmakṛtyāni yathāvad anutiṣṭhati | dhanād dhi dharmaḥ sravati śailād abhi nadī yathā ||

Translation

Arjuna sprach: Wer ohne Reichtum ist, kann die Pflichten und Handlungen des Dharma nicht in rechter Weise vollziehen. Denn in der Praxis fließt der Dharma aus dem Reichtum—wie ein Fluss unablässig vom Berge herabströmt.

Word by Word

नnot

अधनःa poor man / one without wealth

धर्मकृत्यानिduties/acts of dharma

यथावत्properly, as prescribed

अनुतिष्ठतिperforms, carries out

धनात्from wealth

हिindeed, for

धर्मःdharma, righteousness

स्रवतिflows, issues forth

शैलात्from a mountain

अभिtowards, forth (preverb)

नदीriver

यथाas, just as

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

river (nadī)

mountain (śaila)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that many dharmic obligations require material resources; without wealth one may be unable to perform prescribed duties (such as giving, hosting, ritual support, and public welfare). It frames wealth as an enabling condition for dharma’s outward practice, like a mountain-source that keeps a river flowing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s reflective discourse on governance and moral life after the war, Arjuna voices a pragmatic observation: poverty can obstruct the proper performance of dharma, while wealth facilitates it. The statement functions as a prompt for deeper discussion on the relationship between artha (material means) and dharma (ethical order).