Shloka 15
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
पतित: शोच्यते राजन् निर्धनश्वापि शोच्यते । विशेष नाधिगच्छामि पतितस्याधनस्य च,राजन! जैसे पतित मनुष्य शोचनीय होता है, वैसे ही निर्धन भी होता है; मुझे पतित और निर्धनमें कोई अन्तर नहीं जान पड़ता
patitaḥ śocyate rājan nirdhanaś cāpi śocyate | viśeṣaṁ nādhigacchāmi patitasyādhanasya ca ||
Arjuna dit : «Ô roi, on plaint l’homme déchu, et l’on plaint aussi l’homme pauvre. Je ne discerne aucune différence véritable entre celui qui est tombé de la conduite juste et celui qui est sans richesse.»
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse equates two kinds of human suffering—moral/social downfall and material poverty—highlighting that both conditions invite pity and demand ethical concern, and that society’s judgment often treats them similarly.
Arjuna addresses a king and reflects on how people respond to misfortune: both a ‘fallen’ person and a poor person are regarded as pitiable, and he states he sees no meaningful difference between these two states.