Shloka 49
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
नचार्थों भैक्ष्यचर्येण नापि क्लैब्येन कह्िचित् । वेत्तुं शक्य: सदा राजन् केवल धर्मबुद्धिना,“राजन्! भीख माँगनेसे, कायरता दिखानेसे अथवा केवल धर्ममें ही मन लगाये रहनेसे धनकी प्राप्ति कदापि नहीं हो सकती
na cārtho bhaikṣyacaryeṇa nāpi klaibyena kaścit | vettum śakyaḥ sadā rājan kevala-dharma-buddhinā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, wealth is not to be obtained by living on alms, nor by displaying cowardice; nor can it be secured merely by keeping one’s mind fixed on righteousness alone. Material prosperity requires appropriate effort and means, not helplessness or a one-sided posture of piety.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that artha (material prosperity) is not achieved through dependence (begging), timidity (cowardice), or by a merely inward, one-sided fixation on dharma; it implies the need for appropriate, courageous, and skillful action aligned with righteous aims.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a king and articulates a practical counsel about the pursuit of wealth: moral intention alone, without effective action and resolve, does not secure resources—an admonition relevant to royal duty and worldly governance.