Shloka 41
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
अर्थस्य पुरुषो दासो दासस्त्वर्थों न कस्यचित् । इति सत्यं महाराज बद्धो<स्म्यर्थेन कौरवै:,महाराज! पुरुष अर्थका दास है, अर्थ किसीका दास नहीं है। यह सच्ची बात है। मैं कौरवोंके द्वारा अर्थसे बँधा हुआ हूँ
arthasya puruṣo dāso dāsas tv artho na kasyacit | iti satyaṃ mahārāja baddho 'smy arthena kauravaiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “A man becomes the servant of wealth; wealth is servant to no one. O great king, this is the truth. Bound by wealth—by the Kauravas’ obligations and patronage—I am constrained.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that wealth (artha) tends to dominate human agency: people become servants to material dependence, while wealth itself is not loyal to anyone. Ethically, it warns that financial obligation and patronage can bind even a principled person, limiting freedom to act purely by dharma.
Bhishma explains to the addressed king that his position with the Kauravas is not merely a matter of preference but of binding obligation. He acknowledges a hard truth: material support and debts of loyalty can compel one’s conduct, even amid the moral pressures of the Kurukshetra war.