Shloka 50
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
निर्धनको दुर्बल कहा जाता है। धनसे मनुष्य बलवान् होता है। धनवान्को सब कुछ सुलभ है। जिसके पास खजाना है, वह सारे संकटोंसे पार हो जाता है ।।
Bhīṣma uvāca: nirdhanako durbalaḥ kathyate; dhanena manuṣyo balavān bhavati. dhanavataḥ sarvaṃ sulabham. yasya kośaḥ sa sarvasaṅkaṭebhyaḥ pāraṃ gacchati. kośena dharmaḥ kāmaś ca paralokas tathā ayam; taṃ ca dharmeṇa lipsen nādharmeṇa kadācana.
Bhīṣma dijo: «Al pobre se le llama débil; con riqueza el hombre se vuelve fuerte. Para el rico, todo es fácil de alcanzar; quien posee un tesoro supera toda crisis. Por medio de la riqueza se logran el dharma y el kāma (el deseo), y tanto este mundo como el venidero. Por ello, búsquese esa riqueza por el dharma—nunca por el adharma.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth functions as practical strength and enables the pursuit of life’s aims (dharma, kāma, and well-being in this world and the next), but it must be acquired only through dharma; unethical gain is explicitly rejected.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues his counsel on statecraft and right conduct, emphasizing the social and political necessity of resources while setting a moral boundary: prosperity should be sought by righteous means.