Shloka 27
Duryodhana’s Account of Gandharva Defeat and the Pandavas’ Intervention (दुर्योधनवर्णितो गन्धर्वसंग्रामः)
कथं न भिद्येत न च स्रवेत न च प्रसिच्येदिति रक्षितव्यम् | अरक्ष्यमाणं शतधा प्रकीर्येद् ध्रुव न नाशो5स्ति कृतस्य लोके,“यदि प्राप्त हुए धनका यथावत् वितरण न किया जायगा तो वह कच्चे घड़ेमें रखे हुए जलकी भाँति चूकर व्यर्थ नष्ट क्यों न होगा? यह सोचकर उसकी रक्षा करना ही कर्तव्य है। यदि यथायोग्य विभाजनके द्वारा धनकी रक्षा न की जायगी तो वह सैकड़ों प्रकारसे बिखर जायगा। जगतमें किये हुए कर्म-फलका नाश नहीं होता--यह निश्चित है। (इससे यही सिद्ध होता है कि उसका यथायोग्य वितरण कर देना ही उचित है)”
kathaṁ na bhidyeta na ca sravet na ca prasicyed iti rakṣitavyam | arakṣyamāṇaṁ śatadhā prakīryed dhruvaṁ na nāśo 'sti kṛtasya loke |
Vaiśampāyana said: “One must guard wealth with the thought: ‘How may it neither break apart, nor leak away, nor be wasted by spilling?’ For if it is not protected, it will scatter in a hundred ways. It is certain that in this world the fruit of what one has done does not perish; therefore, the proper course is to preserve it through fitting allocation and distribution, rather than letting it be lost like water kept in an unbaked clay pot.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth must be safeguarded through disciplined, appropriate allocation; otherwise it dissipates in countless ways. The verse also affirms the certainty of karma-phala: the results of actions do not vanish, so one should handle resources responsibly and in accordance with dharma.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a reflective instruction on the handling of acquired wealth: it should be protected from loss and waste, and preserved by proper division/distribution. The statement is framed as practical counsel grounded in the moral certainty that deeds yield enduring consequences.