Shloka 18
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
अर्थन हि विहीनस्य पुरुषस्याल्पमेधस: । विच्छिद्यन्ते क्रिया: सर्वा ग्रीष्मे कुसरितो यथा
arthena hi vihīnasya puruṣasyālpamedhasaḥ | vicchidyante kriyāḥ sarvā grīṣme kusarito yathā ||
Arjuna said: “For a man of little understanding who is bereft of wealth, all undertakings and duties get broken off and fail—just as, in the heat of summer, small streams are cut up and dry away.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Material means (artha) strongly condition a person’s capacity to sustain duties and projects; without resources, especially for the short-sighted, actions and obligations tend to collapse—hence ethical life must account for practical support, not ideals alone.
Arjuna voices a reflective observation in the Shanti Parva’s discourse: he uses a seasonal metaphor—small streams drying in summer—to illustrate how a resource-less person’s activities and commitments get disrupted and fail.