Shloka 43
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
धनेन जयते लोकावुभौ परमिमं तथा । सत्यं च धर्मवचनं यथा नास्त्यधनस्तथा,धनसे मनुष्य इहलोक और परलोक दोनोंपर विजय पाता है तथा सत्य और धर्मका भी सम्पादन कर लेता है, परंतु निर्धनको इस कार्यमें वैसी सफलता नहीं मिलती। उसका अस्तित्व नहीं के बराबर होता है
dhanena jayate lokāv ubhau param imau tathā | satyaṃ ca dharmavacanaṃ yathā nāsty adhanas tathā ||
Bhishma said: “By wealth a person gains mastery over both worlds—this one and the next. With wealth one is also able to uphold truth and to act and speak in accordance with dharma; but the one without wealth does not attain the same success in these aims, and his standing in society becomes almost as if he did not exist.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the practical power of artha (wealth): it enables a person to secure success in worldly and otherworldly aims and to sustain truth and dharmic conduct, while poverty often undermines one’s capacity and social recognition. It is a pragmatic, not purely idealistic, observation about how resources support ethical life and social standing.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and right living, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira. Here he emphasizes the role of wealth in sustaining dharma and effective action, warning that extreme lack of resources can render a person powerless and socially invisible.