Shloka 4
अविश्वास-निति: ब्रह्मदत्त–पूजनी-संवादः
Policy of Caution: The Brahmadatta–Pūjanī Dialogue
अभोग्याश्लौषधीश्कछित्त्वा भोग्या एव पचन्त्युत,राजन! जो खानेयोग्य नहीं हैं, उन ओषधियों या वृक्षोंको काटकर मनुष्य उनके द्वारा खानेयोग्य ओषधियोंको पकाते हैं। इसी प्रकार जो देवताओं, पितरों और मनुष्योंका हविष्यके द्वारा पूजन नहीं करता है, उसके धनको धर्मज्ञ पुरुषोंने व्यर्थ बताया है। अतः धर्मात्मा राजा ऐसे धनको छीन ले और उसके द्वारा प्रजाका पालन करे, किंतु वैसे धनसे राजा अपना कोश न भरे
abhogyāślauṣadhīḥ kacchittvā bhogyā eva pacanty uta | rājan! yo khāneyogya nahīṃ haiṃ, un oṣadhiyoṃ yā vṛkṣoṃ ko kāṭakara manuṣya unake dvārā khāneyogya oṣadhiyoṃ ko pacāte haiṃ | evaṃ yaḥ devatā-pitṛ-manuṣyāṇāṃ haviṣā pūjanaṃ na karoti, tasya dhanaṃ dharmajñaiḥ puruṣaiḥ vyarthaṃ proktam | ataḥ dharmātmā rājā tādṛśaṃ dhanaṃ chīnatāṃ, tena prajā-pālanaṃ karotu, kintu tādṛśena dhanena rājā svaṃ kośaṃ na pūrayet ||
Bhishma said: “O King, people cut down inedible herbs or trees and, by means of them, cook what is edible. In the same way, the wealth of one who does not worship the gods, the ancestors, and human beings through offerings is declared futile by those who know dharma. Therefore, a righteous king should seize such wealth and use it to maintain the people; yet he should not fill his own treasury with that kind of wealth.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth becomes ethically ‘fruitless’ if it is not used to honor obligations to gods, ancestors, and people through offerings and support. A righteous king may confiscate such misused wealth for public welfare, but should not enrich his own treasury with it.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on royal duty, Bhishma advises the king (Yudhishthira) using an analogy from cooking: even inedible wood/herbs can serve as fuel to prepare edible food. Likewise, wealth that is not sanctified by worship and giving may be redirected by the king toward maintaining the subjects, without becoming personal royal gain.