Shloka 26

धन-राजधर्म संवादः

Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty

Devanagari script

न चेद्धर्तव्यमन्यस्य कथं तद्धर्ममारभेत्‌ । एतावानेव वेदेषु निश्चय: कविभि: कृत:

Transliteration

na ced dhartavyam anyasya kathaṁ tad dharmam ārabhet | etāvān eva vedeṣu niścayaḥ kavibhiḥ kṛtaḥ ||

Translation

អរជុនបាននិយាយថា៖ «បើមិនគួរយកអ្វីដែលជាកម្មសិទ្ធិរបស់អ្នកដទៃទេ នោះតើអាចចាប់ផ្តើមធ្វើវាឲ្យជាធម៌បានដូចម្តេច? នេះហើយជាសេចក្តីសម្រេចតែមួយ ដែលមានក្នុងវេទ ដូចដែលព្រះឥសីទាំងឡាយបានកំណត់»។

Word by Word

नnot

चेत्if

धर्तव्यम्to be borne/maintained; ought to be undertaken

अन्यस्यof another (person)

कथम्how?

तत्that

धर्मम्dharma; duty

आरभेत्should begin/undertake

एतावान्this much; so much

एवindeed; only

वेदेषुin the Vedas

निश्चयःcertainty; settled conclusion

कविभिःby sages/poets

कृतःmade; established

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Vedas

kavi (sages/seers)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That taking what belongs to another cannot be justified as dharma; the Vedic-sage consensus treats non-appropriation (non-stealing) as a firm ethical boundary.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna frames a moral objection in the form of a rhetorical question, appealing to Vedic authority and the determinations of sages to argue that an act involving taking another’s possession cannot be initiated as righteous duty.