Shloka 13
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
कृश उवाच दुर्लभो5प्यथवा नास्ति यो<र्थी धृतिमवाप्नुयात् स दुर्लभतरस्तात योडर्थिनं नावमन्यते,दुर्बल शरीरवाले मुनिने कहा--तात! जो याचक धैर्य धारण कर सके अर्थात् किसी वस्तुकी आवश्यकता होनेपर भी उसके लिये किसीसे याचना न करे, वह दुर्लभ है एवं जो याचना करनेवाले याचककी अवहेलना न करे--आदरपूर्वक उसकी इच्छा पूर्ण करे, ऐसा पुरुष संसारमें अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है
kṛśa uvāca durllabho 'py athavā nāsti yo 'rthī dhṛtim avāpnuyāt | sa durllabhataras tāta yo 'rthinaṃ nāvamanyate ||
कृश उवाच—दुर्लभोऽप्यथवा नास्ति योऽर्थी धृतिमवाप्नुयात् । स दुर्लभतरस्तात योऽर्थिनं नावमन्यते ॥
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two virtues are contrasted: (1) the rare strength of a needy person who maintains dhṛti and refrains from begging despite want, and (2) an even rarer virtue—refusing to scorn a petitioner and instead responding with respectful generosity. The verse elevates compassion and non-contempt toward the vulnerable as exceptionally difficult and therefore highly valued dharma.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the speaker Kṛśa addresses a listener (“tāta”) and offers a moral observation about human conduct: true nobility is shown not only in self-restraint under need, but more profoundly in how one treats those who come asking—without humiliation and with readiness to help.