Shloka 12
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
राजा नहुषने निर्धनावस्थामें क्रूरतापूर्ण कर्म करके यह दुःखपूर्ण उदगार प्रकट किया था कि “इस जगतमें निर्धनताको धिक्कार है! सर्वस्व त्यागकर निर्धन या अकिंचन हो जाना यह मुनियोंका ही धर्म है, राजाओंका नहीं' ।।
aśvastanam ṛṣīṇāṃ hi vidyate veda tad bhavān | yaṃ tv imaṃ dharmam ity āhur dhanād eṣa pravartate ||
Arjuna said: “You know well that the sages’ way is to live without storing for the next day—sustaining themselves by daily alms. But the duty that people call the duty of kings is set in motion by wealth; it depends upon resources. Thus, the austere ‘nothingness’ suitable for ascetics is not the same as the responsibility-bearing dharma of rulers.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Different dharmas apply to different roles: ascetics may practice non-accumulation and live by daily alms, but a king’s dharma—protection, governance, charity, and public order—requires material resources; therefore it is ‘set in motion’ by wealth.
Arjuna argues about the practical basis of royal duty, contrasting the sages’ non-storing lifestyle with the king’s obligation to act in the world. The verse supports the point that rulership cannot be sustained through ascetic poverty.