Shloka 24
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
यः कृशार्थ: कृशगव: कृशभृत्य: कृशातिथि: । स वै राजन् कृशो नाम न शरीरकृश: कृश:
yaḥ kṛśārthaḥ kṛśagavaḥ kṛśabhṛtyaḥ kṛśātithiḥ | sa vai rājan kṛśo nāma na śarīrakṛśaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
Ô roi : celui qui est pauvre en moyens—pauvre en richesse, pauvre en bétail, pauvre en serviteurs, et dont la maison reçoit rarement des hôtes—lui seul mérite vraiment le nom de « kṛśa » (misérable/faible). La seule maigreur du corps ne fait pas un homme « kṛśa » au sens véritable.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse redefines ‘weakness’ as social and economic diminishment rather than mere bodily thinness: true ‘kṛśatā’ is the loss of means, cattle, dependents, and the flow of guests—markers of prosperity, responsibility, and dharmic household life.
Arjuna addresses a king and clarifies a moral distinction: he argues that the term ‘kṛśa’ should be applied to one whose household and resources have withered (wealth, cattle, servants, hospitality), not simply to someone who is physically lean.