Shloka 5
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
अलब्धस्य कथं लिप्सा लब्धं केन विवर्धते । वर्धितं पाल्यते केन पालितं प्रणयेत् कथम्,“अप्राप्त वस्तुकी प्राप्ति कैसे होती है? प्राप्त द्रव्यकी वृद्धि किस प्रकार हो सकती है? बढ़े हुए द्रव्यकी रक्षा किससे की जाती है? और उस सुरक्षित द्रव्यका सदुपयोग कैसे किया जाना चाहिये?”
bhīṣma uvāca | alabdhasya kathaṃ lipsā labdhaṃ kena vivardhate | vardhitaṃ pālyate kena pālitaṃ praṇayet katham |
“અપ્રાપ્ત વસ્તુ મેળવવાની ઇચ્છા અને ઉપાય કેવી રીતે ઊભા થાય? પ્રાપ્ત ધન કઈ રીતે વધે? વધેલું ધન કોણ/શું રક્ષે? અને રક્ષિત ધનનો યોગ્ય—ધર્મસંગત—વિનિયોગ કેવી રીતે કરવો?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma outlines a fourfold ethical inquiry about artha (resources/wealth): (1) how to seek and obtain what is lacking, (2) how to increase what is obtained, (3) how to protect what has grown, and (4) how to employ protected wealth in a proper, dharmic way—implying that wealth is meaningful only when acquired, managed, and used under dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira. Here he frames the discussion by posing sequential questions about the lifecycle of wealth—acquisition, growth, protection, and righteous utilization—setting up guidance on prudent and ethical statecraft and household management.