Shloka 26
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
न चेद्धर्तव्यमन्यस्य कथं तद्धर्ममारभेत् । एतावानेव वेदेषु निश्चय: कविभि: कृत:
na ced dhartavyam anyasya kathaṁ tad dharmam ārabhet | etāvān eva vedeṣu niścayaḥ kavibhiḥ kṛtaḥ ||
ಅರ್ಜುನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಇತರರದ್ದನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಾರದೆಂದರೆ, ಅದನ್ನೇ ‘ಧರ್ಮ’ವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಆರಂಭಿಸಬಹುದು? ವೇದಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಋಷಿಗಳು ನಿಶ್ಚಯಿಸಿದ ತೀರ್ಮಾನ ಇದೇ.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.