Shloka 10
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
यदीमानि हवींषीह विमथिष्यन्त्यसाधव: । भवता विप्रहीणानि प्राप्तं त्वामेव किल्बिषम्
yadīmāni havīṁṣīha vimathiṣyanty asādhavaḥ | bhavatā viprahīṇāni prāptaṁ tvām eva kilbiṣam ||
Arjuna said: “If, after you abandon this rite, wicked men here were to destroy these accumulated sacrificial materials, the resulting sin would fall upon you alone—because your renunciation would become a precedent, others would grow indifferent to sacred duty, and the very continuity of this dharma would be cut off.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A leader’s abandonment of dharmic practice can become a harmful precedent: it encourages neglect of duty in others, leading to the decline of righteous conduct, and the moral blame is said to accrue to the one who set the example.
Arjuna argues that if the intended sacrificial act is given up, unscrupulous people may ruin the gathered offerings; more importantly, he warns that the renouncer will be held responsible because others will imitate the withdrawal and the ritual-dharma will be undermined.