Shloka 3

Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi

Sanskrit

यदर्थं गृह्यते शुल्कं तदनिष्पादयन् वृथा ।

पण्यानां द्वादशं भागं भूपालाय वणिग्जनः ॥

Transliteration

yadarthaṃ gṛhyate śulkaṃ tad aniṣpādayan vṛthā /

paṇyānāṃ dvādaśaṃ bhāgaṃ bhūpālāya vaṇigjanaḥ

Translation

Wenn man Zoll erhebt, aber den Zweck, zu dem er erhoben wird (Schutz und Ordnung), nicht gewährt, dann ist diese Erhebung vergeblich. Die Kaufmannschaft gibt dem König den zwölften Teil der Waren.

Speakers

• Arjuna’s reasoning within the narrative (reported speech)

Key Themes

• Taxation ethics
• Social contract (protection for revenue)
• Economic dharma
• Kingship duty