Shloka 11
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! विदुरजीकी बात समाप्त होनेपर धर्म और अर्थके तत्त्वको जाननेवाले अर्थशास्त्रविशारद अर्जुनने युधिष्ठिरकी आज्ञा पाकर कहा ।।
arjuna uvāca | karmabhūmir iyaṃ rājan iha vārtā praśasyate | kṛṣir vāṇijya-gorakṣaṃ śilpāni vividhāni ca ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana dijo: “¡Oh Janamejaya! Cuando Vidura hubo concluido, Arjuna—versado en el Arthaśāstra y conocedor de la esencia del dharma y del artha—por mandato de Yudhiṣṭhira habló así: ‘¡Oh Rey! Esta es una tierra de labor y deber. Aquí se alaba aquello que sirve de sustento. La agricultura, el comercio, la cría y protección del ganado, y las diversas artes y oficios: todos ellos son medios para obtener riqueza.’”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna emphasizes an Artha-oriented ethic: in a ‘karmabhūmi’ society, wealth and stability arise from praised, productive livelihoods—agriculture, commerce, cattle-rearing, and skilled crafts—linking material prosperity to orderly social functioning under dharma.
After Vidura’s discourse concludes, Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya that Arjuna—skilled in understanding dharma and artha—speaks at Yudhiṣṭhira’s command, beginning a practical statement about the praised means of livelihood in the world.