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 ||
राजन्! जिसके पास अर्थ की कमी है, जिसकी गौएँ कम हैं, सेवक कम हैं और जिसके यहाँ अतिथियों का आना-जाना भी विरल हो गया है—वास्तव में वही ‘कृश’ कहलाने योग्य है। जो केवल शरीर से कृश है, वह कृश नहीं कहा जा सकता।
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.