Shloka 6
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
यो हााजिजीविषेद् भैक्ष्यं कर्मणा नैव कस्यचित् । समारम्भान् बुभूषेत हतस्वस्तिरकिंचन: । सर्वलोकेषु विख्यातो न पुत्रपशुसंहित:
yo hājijīviṣed bhaikṣyaṁ karmaṇā naiva kasyacit | samārambhān bubhūṣeta hatasvastir akiñcanaḥ | sarvalokeṣu vikhyāto na putrapaśusaṁhitaḥ ||
Arjuna said: “A man who wishes to live should not seek alms while still capable of earning by his own work. But if his means of welfare are ruined, if he is utterly destitute, lacking support, and unable—through sheer incapacity—to pursue bold undertakings or to seize another’s wealth or kingdom by force, then even such a person may rightly desire to sustain himself by begging.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Begging is not presented as a first resort: one should live by one’s own work when capable. Yet when a person is truly ruined—without resources, support, or capacity for enterprise—alms may be an ethically permissible means of survival.
In the Shanti Parva’s ethical discussions, Arjuna voices a principle about rightful livelihood: he contrasts self-earned sustenance with begging, allowing the latter only under extreme helplessness and destitution.