Shloka 3
Kośa-saṃjanana and Subtle Dharma
Treasury Formation and Fine-Grained Ethics
न कोश: शुद्धशौचेन न नृशंसेन जातुचित् । मध्यमं पदमास्थाय कोशसंग्रहणं चरेत्
na kośaḥ śuddhaśaucena na nṛśaṃsena jātucit | madhyamaṃ padam āsthāya kośasaṃgrahaṇaṃ caret ||
ビーシュマは言った。「清浄無垢と厳格な自制にのみ執着する者によって、国庫は決して蓄えられない。かといって、残虐非道な者によっても、それは決して確かなものとはならない。ゆえに中道に拠り、徳を捨てずに歳入を集め、繁栄を得るべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
State revenue should be gathered through a balanced policy: neither extreme scrupulousness that makes administration ineffective nor extreme cruelty that violates dharma. Prosperity must be pursued with ethical restraint.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on rājadharma, Bhishma instructs the king on practical governance. Here he explains how a ruler should build the treasury by adopting a moderate approach to taxation and administration.